The Piercing Truth

This is right from the dictionary and seems to describe Albuquerque, Berry and Schultz. Fascism (f ash ,izem) noun An authoritarian right wing system of government and/or social organization. (in general use) extreme right wing, authoritarian, chauvinistic and/or intolerant views or practices. Fascism tends to include a belief in the supremacy of one group over another, national, ethnic, especially social strata or monetarily; a contempt for democracy, an insistence on obedience to a powerful leader, and a strong demagogic approach. Compliments of one of our Eyes

Dec 25, 2014

Ghost of Christmas Past....

 Tis the season once again to look back and reminisce, remember, and reinforce memories of why we here in the Duke City have the mess in front of us that we have. Memories seem to run short, get clouded and sadly enough... get forgotten.
The internet is unforgiving and the Eye on Albuquerque is making it's list, and checking it twice. We plan to make sure that when 2015 comes, it is a year of long overdue accountability for the naughty and not nice. While those responsible for this mess are  nestled all snug in their beds with visions of BLOATED PERA CHECKS and KICKBACKS dancing in their heads, the lies, and past treachery arise from the dead.

Stink Stank Stunk
The former cause of this mess and resident coward in hiding, ex disgraced police chief Raymond D. Schultz, has chosen to recently poke his worthless head out. It must have been that uncontrollable urge to let out a lie or ten. Yes, it is amusing that we do not see hide nor tail of this turkey, but when we do, it is another colossal tale of untruthfulness that he spins with a strait face. You would think this confirmed liar would stay under his rock, but the lack of attention must have gotten to him. You see, this irrelevant little cancer is taking issue with accusations against him that he personally involved himself in a criminal investigation pushing for charges against Del Norte school principal Sandra Jo Sloan back in June of 2011 Why is this interesting you say?
Timing is the reason. Knowing how this administration works, and how they have done things since there was even a twinkle of a DOJ investigation, all you need to do is look at the patterns, behavior, reactions, and compare it all.  One thing is consistent. They all lie then hide when caught or to avoid being caught up further in their lies.

"Your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful
assortment of rubbish imaginable mangled up in tangled up knots!"

After piquing our interest by this unexpected and odd surfacing, we here at the Eye decided to ask why. After that, we then asked Who, What, When Where and How? Then the twisted scam revealed itself, and how something that was once all about one selfish coward enveloped everyone around him, until it destroyed an entire police department, a city and numerous lives.

Something like a Department of Justice investigation just does not all of the sudden happen. There is rumor, speculation, and leaks over time as it approaches. Questions get asked, and people make phone calls, especially the fearful possible targets of such an investigation. It builds up until the point is reached to where all the speculation is either confirmed or dismissed. That day was Tuesday November 27th 2012, the day Kenneth J. Gonzales announced much to the chagrin of Mayor Richard Berry and FORMER police chief Raymond D. Schultz that they were going to launch an investigation into the Albuquerque Police Department. Knowing that this was a possibility from at least August 1st 2011, when the city council voted 5 to 4 for a DOJ investigation, but was then stalled and obstructed by Berry's veto, Schultz and this administration did everything they could to obstruct, if not totally roadblock the investigation by planning, conspiring, and contriving schemes, intimidating and tampering with witnesses, and cases, abusing the judicial system, destroying and or hiding evidence, maliciously prosecuting, or attempting to maliciously prosecute cases and lying under oath themselves or directing others to do the above before, during, and after the launch of the investigation. Since this was a boiling topic before the city council vote, this means there was warning going back to mid 2010 after the killing of Kenneth Ellis III, that the city council may push for a Department of Justice investigation into the Department. Looking at this time frame, we have from mid 2010 until the completion of the DOJ investigation on April 10, 2014 to fill in the pieces.

In November of 2010 prominent Albuquerque attorney Mary Han was found murdered in her home, and the crime scene was handled in such an unacceptable and unprofessional criminal manner that the Attorney General admonished the department for it's actions that day. Mrs. Han had just dissolved her partnership with her law firm partner, and was in the process of investigating numerous claims of civil rights violations involving many alleged prostitute contacts with APD personnel. While all of this was going on, the murder of 11 victims found in the West Mesa of the City of Albuquerque on February 2nd of 2009 was already a cold case. Word was that Mrs. Han was on to a possible prostitution ring. In June 2011, former UNM professor Chris Garcia aka "Burque Pops" gets arrested for running the internet prostitution ring, SOUTHWEST  COMPANIONS. None other than Lieutenant at the time William Roseman holds a press conference announcing the arrest. One media outlet reported that the membership base reportedly includes individuals from a cross-section of society, and Darren White was actually quoted as saying "There are probably some very nervous people out there right now." How about that? Our Eyes have told us the hard drives seized from Burque Pops contain the names and IPs of several high ranking politicians, city and state officials. Would this be enough to make ghosts out of people? We think so.

The Burque Pops case gets dismissed, and APD moves onto another investigation. As the city council of Albuquerque prepares to vote on bringing in the DOJ to investigate APD on August 1 of 2011, Keith Sandy of the Vice unit sensationalizes the arrest of former District Court Judge Pat Murdoch by arresting him at his office on Tuesday July 19, 2011 just prior. In August city council voted yes on the DOJ investigation and the Mayor Vetoes it. Pat Murdoch's case gets tossed out too.

In February of 2011, APD officers Doyle and Woolever apprehend an armed fleeing felon wanted for murder and numerous violent felonies without resorting to deadly force. They are cleared by their commander. As the city council DOJ vote draws near Schultz devises a second distraction tactic, and reopens an investigation into officers Woolever and Doyle, subsequently terminating them. While all of this is going on Christopher Torres is shot and killed in April of 2011 and Alan Gomez is shot in the back and killed while unarmed in front of his home in May of 2011. Remember how we told you things just don't happen. Apply this philosophy to city contracts and bureaucracy and they really don't just happen. It takes time. On January 17th of 2013 Tazer inked a 1.5 million dollar open ended contract with the city that was greased by Schultz in his own words. That plan was in the works since July of 2011, when APD got their first Tazer shotguns. In November of 2011 Doyle and Woolever are fired and Schultz, Jason Peck along with others are subsequently caught in lies involving the case and investigation. Now add in some more diversions and distractions and we are full circle now with what brought our attention to this matter in the first place, Schultz's meddling in the prosecution of a School Principal and several other matters to protect his own hide and the hides of his friends and people he owes favors to. Now we know exactly what they mean when they say "following orders from whoever tells us what to do" It is as clear as a bell now.

Christmas Present
In the custom of staying consistent in the only thing those running APD ever stay consistent in; extortion, retaliation, blame deflection, and ruining lives, and lying,  investigators from the same units are again directed to guide another investigation into another preconceived direction, by corrupt officials in order to cover for individuals, promote their agendas, and keep their track record of justified murders not getting prosecuted. Yet again, another shiny object is thrown out there to take attention away from the corrupt and prosecution of those deserving it; the Brandenberg investigation. It seems old Turkey Neck Schultz schooled his underlings well in the art of subversion and treacherous tactics. They have learned from the best how to abuse their positions to keep the cover ups going, and to deflect attention. Nothing has changed, and the officers in this case even admit how eerily similar their investigation was to the Murdoch case. It is evident that individuals running APD have turned the agency into a Criminal Enterprise worthy of most in depth criminal investigation since the Knapp Commission.
They have lied to the media, the courts and to the citizens. They have devised intricate plans and proceeders for optimizing the spread of lies beneficial to them by releasing such information only on the first three days of a week and never on a weekend. When the information to be released is damning to their agendas, it is released on a Friday late in the day and they hide from being interviewed or asked questions. All of the water carriers who have proven themselves loyal to this regime have been protected, promoted or rewarded for the water they have carried.
    
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come
As we reach 2015, we here at the Eye want everyone not to lose sight of the big picture here. Keep your eye on the big present; discovery, investigation, and prosecution of everyone and anyone that is covering for official corrupt criminal abuse of power and office and those legally advising those involved in these activities exposed and stripped from employment, office and financial gain. The city needs to be made whole again. Schultz has used his position, the department, employees, the citizens and any means necessary to fill his pockets like a coward. 2015 should be the year he is held accountable for it. Not only him, but those in the city attorney's office who have assisted him, those in positions throughout the political landscape, active and retired who have been a part of this, and those in the media who have protected him...Kent. We know who all of you are, and what all of you have done.

Stay relentless this holiday season and keep the heat on. There's many chestnuts to roast. So, Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night!



Dec 19, 2014

Welcome to the Garden of Eden!

Richard Berry appointed Gorden Eden to the top position at the Albuquerque Police Department in February 2014.  Berry said after a national search Eden was the “best man” for the job.  It has been ten months and what brilliance has Gorden Eden shown us?
March 21, 2014, Eden holds a press conference regarding the Boyd shooting where he announces the shooting appears “justified” and then incorrectly names a Supreme Court case as the reason why.  This sparks riots in Albuquerque and protests around the nation. (this was during the 8 days Richard Berry went AWOL from Albuquerque).
April 8 2014, Eden names his friend retired APD SWAT command Robert Huntsman to the rank of Assistant Chief of Police.  Huntsman created the same SWAT team that is now the subject of damning comments by the DoJ.  Huntsman, when asked by KRQE, how he can now clean up the SWAT team when he created the current SWAT team, was silent.  Huntsman has not agreed to be interviewed since.
May 6, 2014, Eden cancels the National Police Memorial service on Civic Plaza.  This service had been done yearly to honor those local law enforcement officers who died in the line of duty.  Eden tells those who wish to attend to drive to Santa Fe and attend the service there.  Later in the month Eden and Berry do hold a small / dysfunctional service at the police academy.
May 2014, Eden hires PR expert Janet Blair to help his tarnished image.  In August 2014 Janet Blair quits amid controversy that she is at odds with Eden and his command staff over the releasing of public documents, as defined by the IPRA statute.
May 2014 Eden promotes Tim Gonterman to the rank of major.  Tim Gonterman cost the city $300,000 in a civil suit where he tortured a citizen with a Taser gun, burning the citizens’ ear off.  The DoJ blasted APD in their investigation for Taser abuse. Eden ignores outrage by the citizens, saying Gonterman has learned and now is a better officer.
June 2014, Eden bans APD officers from speaking to the DoJ without his permission.  Eden apologies, again.
July 2014, Eden sends an undercover officer to spy on citizens protesting police shootings.  This officer was also involved in a police shooting.  Again this sparks outrage among the community.
August 2014, Eden announces that he is postponing a new cadet class, even though APD (at this time) was below 940 officers and it is budgeted for 1,000, because APD didn’t have the money.  Richard Berry has to countermand this decision by saying APD is budgeted for 1,000 officers.
August 2014, Eden gives the Academy Director a letter of reprimand for falsifying documents of training that were sent to the state academy.  He gave the officer who blew the whistle on this crime an 80 hour suspension.  So much for protecting the whistleblower.
September 2014, APD and Eden are sued in court by KRQE and other news agencies for violating the IPRA statute pertaining to the release of documents.
October 2014, Eden / Berry put forth a proposal to retain senior officers with a retention bonus.  Richard Berry announces that APD has 891 sworn officers and could go below 800 by the end of 2015.  Eden says it is not his fault APD is losing officers faster than they can recruit, Eden says the fault is with changes to the retirement system.  Eden states that morale amongst APD officers is very high.  The state retirement PERA warns Albuquerque that the retention bonus is pension spiking and will cause a $6,000,000 unfunded liability.  Eden doesn’t respond to PERA.  APD continues to lose officers.
November 2014, Eden fires Officer Jeremy Dear for repeatedly not using his lapel camera, even though evidence supports that the Taser Axion Lapel Camera was defective.  During this same time Eden does nothing to Huntsman’s SWAT team members who continually ignore his orders to run their lapel cameras.  It seems the only lesson SWAT learned after the Boyd shooting was to make sure no cameras are running.  Nothing happens to SWAT because Huntsman provides his favorite officers cover.
November 2014, the Albuquerque Free Press reports that Reynaldo Chavez, APD Records Custodian, has cost the citizens $48,000 in settlements for illegally denying public records requests.  Eden does nothing.
December 2014, Eden gives the officer who crushed a citizens testicle 240 hour suspension.  Even though this officer is on camera destroying video evidence of this incident, Eden doesn’t fire him and does not request a criminal investigation into charges of evidence tampering.  The State Certification Board rescinds this officers police certification.
December 2014, APD leaks an investigation to their friends at the Journal that District Attorney Kari Brandenburg is being investigated for bribery of a witness.  This investigation started in October 2013, yet the NM Attorney General was not asked to take it over (because of conflicts of interest) until November 25, 2014.  The DA was never interviewed by any APD detective regarding these allegations.  Eden refuses to answer any media questions regarding the leaked investigation.  The IPRA statute allows law enforcement to not release documents of an ongoing investigation, yet APD handed the Journal everything regarding the Brandenburg investigation.  Eden won’t comment as to why.  Eden has not opened an investigation into who leaked this investigation to the Journal.  Eden will not comment as to when he knew about this investigation.  Eden allows a inflammatory, weak, investigation to be leaked to the press, making unsubstantiated allegations against the current District Attorney, but he won’t answer any questions about it.
(side note.  There is speculation that the District Attorney had hinted to Eden that she was going to recommend charges be filed in the Boyd shooting.  This may answer why one of the APD shooters retired right away, to protect his pension.  The law currently allows for PERA retirees to keep their pensions, even if convicted of a crime, but if they are not retired they could lose their pension.  This may also explain why the allegations against the District Attorney were leaked to the media.  This is just speculation as of now, but APD does not have a stellar reputation and this has further damaged it.)

Brandenburg of course came back swinging saying that, to heck with a grand jury, we're going to present the Boyd case before a judge. (this led many to speculate if DA Brandenburg won't be "Mary Han'd").

December 2014,  Without any comment by Eden, APD's police union independently comes out and says:

"... the New Mexico PERA board has taken legal action against the City of Albuquerque to prevent this pay increase from benefiting any officers top three retirement percentages, the PERA board is accusing the city of unlawfully spiking the retirement averages. This is an absurd reaction by PERA and the City of Albuquerque is planning to take this fight to court, to ensure that officers will benefit from these increases. The executive Board also gave authorization for the APOA to assist the city in defeating this frivolous clam made by PERA. Our assistance will be, that of an ingested party and we will not be providing the city any monetary assistance for this litigation." --APOA President Stephanie Lopez.
These are just a few of the mistakes Eden has made in just ten months at the helm of APD.  Do we think he was the “best” or “most qualified” man for the job of Chief?  No.  Do we think it is time for Richard Berry to dismiss Eden?  Yes.  Will Richard Berry do anything?  No.  The next three years are going to damage APD and it will take years to repair the injury.  Eden is not the chief to lead APD into 2015, he should be replaced and a real qualified officer hired. 
                                                                                                                                   ---Desert Hawk

Dec 16, 2014

APD Staffing to Fall Below 700 in 2015!!!

Recently, the great alcalde stated that it was all Santa Fe's fault that APD officers were leaving the department in droves. Nevermind what's been reported that there are more cops retiring from APD than all cops retiring statewide, once again Berry-Alcalde has failed to take any responsibility for his mess. We are not alone in this observation, and as the email written by retired APD sergeant Dan Klein forwarded to us from one of our Eyes shows, we are in the company of well respected retired members of APD:

"Dan McCay of the Journal wrote an excellent article on December 14, 2014 detailing the manpower crisis within the Albuquerque Police Department.  Mr. McCay's article unfortunately did not answer one very important question; Why did APD go from 1,100 officers in 2010 to 884 officers in December 2014?  Answer this question and Albuquerque can start to fix their police staffing problems, without getting PERA and the State of New Mexico involved.  But does Mayor Berry want to know this answer?

Here is what happened, in early 2010 newly elected Mayor Berry got rid of the Senior Police Officer Retention Bonus program.  This program did not involve PERA and was run in-house by the APD.  An audit of this program in 2012 showed that 129 APD officers delayed their retirements to take advantage of this program.  Once Mayor Berry ended it, those 129 officers retired.  In 2010 Mayor Berry set aside the labor agreement that had been agreed to between Albuquerque and the APOA.  APD officers subsequently went five years without any pay raises, and the raises that were promised were taken away by Mayor Berry.  More APD officers then retired because who wants to stay working for a city that won't honor it's own contract?  In 2010 Mayor Berry changed APD hiring standards to require sixty college credit hours to become an APD officer.  Immediately, the hiring pool for APD shrank, just like it did in 2001 when past Mayor Jim Baca tried the same requirement.  APD, which under the old standards, would have Academy classes of over fifty cadets, saw this number shrink to less than twenty.  Several times since 2010 APD would graduate only ten new officers. With cadet classes lasting six months it was easy to see that APD Recruiting was not keeping pace with retirements.  If Mayor Berry thought this college requirement would bring in more actual cadets he needed to raise the pay accordingly (college graduates), but instead he took away pay and for five years refused to sign a labor contract with the APOA.  The college requirement excluded candidates who, instead of going to college, went to work. These non-college applicants showed they could keep a job, support a home and family.  Under the college requirement at APD, proving you were a mature worker and a stable part of the community didn't matter, all Mayor Berry wanted was sixty college credit hours, this even includes degrees in Liberal Arts and Culinary Arts! 

Now you have your answer as to why APD has lost over twenty five percent of its’ police officers since 2010.  Poor policies by Mayor Berry at the beginning of his tenure as mayor has come back to haunt us now.  And what is the biggest problem with APD?  Mayor Berry's refusal to accept responsibility for his actions and his refusal to change direction.  Mayor Berry finds it easier to blame PERA and others instead of looking in the mirror and seeing that he created this mess."

Thank you for your service Sergeant Klein. And our Eyes inside APD tell us that the exodus within APD is not stopping with the mere offering of cash to those who are eligible to retire. One would think by now Berry-Alcalde would know that you can't pay somebody enough to risk their life everyday while at work. So what's causing these retirements must be something other than money.......


Dec 10, 2014

Shake Ups and Break Ups Oh My!!

This has been an interesting week in Albuquerque and we don't really know where to begin. First we had the bizarre story of APD's kinda-of-investigation-but-not-really of District Attorney Brandenburg.  Our Eyes are telling us things inside APD, that is the high command, are scrambling to explain how exactly a detective on his own refers a case to the Attorney General's office without there being any statement by APD brass nevermind the detective's sergeant? Are we really to believe this Detective took it upon himself to send the case across the street on his own? Like her or not, Ms. Brandbenburg is the top cop in the county and this whole matter smells much like the Judge Murdoch affair. Except this time instead of sex we've got guns and money in play. Weird.

Then we saw this little article:

No sooner is David Tourek out the door then are the replacements lining up. One name however jumped out at us: Erica Anderson. You see, Ms. Anderson has been busy defending Perry/Berry/Schultz in the lawsuit brought against them by the family of the "departed" civil rights attorney Mary Han. (It's been a while since we reported on that case but you do remember that one right? You know, the suspicious death scene where virtually all of APD and City's brass arrived at a crime scene and said "nothing suspicious" and left possibly with diamond rings, computers, cellphones, pictures, and files.)  Funny, Ms. Anderson has been very busy over the past year outside of her representing the squad of crime scene contamination experts:

First she tried to run for a judgeship last summer:

And when she failed at that (it seems that even though she has been carrying water for the Republicans, she is in fact a Democrat, and we know Martinez doesn't like such creatures) she started her own law firm:

But what's even weirder is that apparently she's also working for Tourek's brother in law, attorney Stephen French still:

So we're not sure what's going on there but, either way it stinks.

Looks folks, it seems doing business at the speed of Albuquerque means..."kinda." Get in or get out. If you're gonna charge the DA with a crime then step up with department leaders leading the way, not some poor detective that is going to get left holding the bag to explain why the department fully complied with a IPRA request (when it rarely does) and did so when there was a clear exemption to the request (how often have we heard APD use the "on-going investigation" excuse?)

Add to that a clear scheme where an attorney who appears to have the inside track for the city's top legal position is working for the the retiring city's attorney's brother-in-law but also has her own practice on the side? And really, chasing after the Han family for legal fees. How 'bout you produce the cell phones and articles that were taken from the scene first? And Ms. Anderson, don't think for a minute we aren't aware of your interaction with Ms. Han....

We don't like the look of things to come and the year is all but over yet this mess keeps moving forward....

Dec 4, 2014

Survey Says!

In case you missed it, now our brilliant occupants of the 5th Floor Brain Trust have come up with a feel good way to assess performance of the hard working front line officers of APD. As the memo of Assistant Chief Huntsman show below, now whenever a person receives some good ole APD service, they might be lucky enough to get a follow up call from a APD lieutenant!

Kinda like when you buy something at Home Depot or Walgreens, after you pay for your item, you get a three foot long receipt with instructions on how you can call in and rate the performance of the store and the employee. But not to be outdone, under the leadership of super business man RJ Berry, now patrol lieutenants will be calling citizens who had encounters with patrol officers to evaluate how their service experience was.  We can hear it now:

1. Were you given water after the officer pepper sprayed you because you resisted and swung at my officer?

2. Was he polite to you when you were release from your leg shackles and booked?

3. Was the criminal complaint written well and accurate?

4. Was your seat in the patrol car comfortable?

5. You have a nice voice, would you like to continue this conversation over drinks?

Because let's admit it folks, there are lots of problems with this idea. In fact, isn't the department now just looking for issues to investigate when a citizen says they had a miserable experience because the officer was unable to help them because they had thirty calls holding? And how exactly will these random citizen calls exactly be generated.

Sorry, just when you thought things couldn't get worse, they just do and get more.....weird. Here's an idea, perhaps the 5th Floor should issue another survey amongst officers and ask them how their morale is doing and whether they feel the department is being run well....we're sure that would lead for some...interesting comments....

Dec 1, 2014

Bottoms out....

If the above picture looks familiar, that's because it should be. Over four years ago when the city's mayor was "transitioning" in with his take over, the above article was presented to him about what to do with APD.

As we see with the recent Consent Decree signed by the city, the chickens have come home to roost. Except now it's the people who caused this mess now running the show! When Neal Trautman talks about scandals growing from the individual acts of a few individuals where things are now in the city is virtually every department tainted.

From the library, to the zoo, to solid waste, to yes APD, the major department's have all but imploded and the proof is the endless increase in costs to run the city, morale at basement levels, and a flood of retirements.

One of our Eyes informed us that there are more officers retiring from APD this year than from across the state combined. Funny, that doesn't sound like a PERA issue but a Berry issue. But hey, since APD is now required to provide at least 120 hours of training each year for each officer, instead of what was 16 hours, we're sure our favorite academy director will find some more "distractions" with spending so much quality time with department personnel......



Nov 27, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

In this time of extra PC awareness, the Eye remains wishing all a most Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Nov 23, 2014

Where We Are...

As we head into the holiday season, your loveable Eye thinks it's time we take a quick look around and survey the scene, if you will; you know, the scene of the crime.


1. Almost two years ago, in November 2012, the United States Department of Justice announced an investigation into APD's use of force. Then Chief Ray Schultz said to the department and to his inner circle that this investigation would more than likely find that APD was a good department and had "it's house in order."

2. Just after the jury comes back with a staggering $10 Million judgment against the city for APD officer Brett Lampiris Tremba's shooting and killing of Ken Ellis, APD chief Ray Schultz reveals he's been planning on retiring since January 2013, just two months after DOJ announces their investigation.

3. Just as Albuquerque's mayoral race enters into full gear, APD chief Ray Schultz takes early retirement but not before he inks a multi-million dollar deal for body cameras and storage services by Taser International, the very company he goes on to work for.

4. Upon Ray Schultz's departure, ABQ mayor Berry announces the search for a new chief and names Allen Banks, one of only a few African-Americans in the entire city's personnel roster, to be chief of police.

5. While on the campaign trail, Berry continually praises APD as one of the best department's in the country, and a model agency that others come to to learn from.

6. In early 2014, Allen Banks announces he's not interested in being the chief of APD and leaves for chief's job in Texas...even after a glowing endorsement by the Albuquerque Journal for him as chief.

7. In comes former United States Marshal of New Mexico, former MVD Director, and current New Mexico DPS Secretary Gordon Eden as Chief of Police.

8. Shortly after James Boyd is killed by APD Officers Keith Sandy and Dominque Perez, DOJ announces the findings of their investigation of APD. In response to the Boyd shooting, Eden holds a disasterous press conference resulting in calling in for backup in the form as former APD commander and tactical supervisor Bob Huntsman.

11. One of Huntsman's first orders of business is to relieve the department's deputy chiefs of some responsibilities by creating a new rank: the APD Major. In a true act of fiscal conservatism, Huntsman promotes not one but two officers to the position, both of whom have...controversial histories with the department.

10. As the summer and fall of 2014 progress, APD officers who are eligible for retirement, file required paperwork in such numbers it is reported that there are more police officers retiring from APD than all other departments state wide combined.

11. Berry and Perry hire two outsiders to "negotiate" the DOJ-Albuquerque agreement. Such outsiders include Scott Greenwood, a Taser contractor like Ray Schultz who promotes the use of Taser products, and Tom Streicher, former chief of the Cincinnati Police Department who led the department during what are considered the worst police sparked riots since the Rodney King riots in Los Angeles.

12. Via the work of Greenwood & Streicher, DOJ-Albuquerque finalize an agreement where virtually every aspect of a department whose house was supposed to be in order is now subject to scrutiny. From APD's academy (don't think we've forgotten about you Wolf, we've just been busy), to internal investigations, to reporting, to annual training, special units, and nevermind investigations and use of force EVERYTHING is now to be reviewed and subject to reformation.

The sad thing is, this is not the twelve days of Christmas, but like the never ending gobstopper from the Chocolate Factory: it never ends. And why our Eyes and readers wonder? Because the very same people that created this disaster are still in place. Our Eyes tell us, good ole Ray Schultz is very much in the middle of things and very much in communication with our friends running the department. And what of those investigations into the former chief and his questionable activities....?

While your loveable Eye likes to report and analyze the facts of things going on, we're gonna step out this one time and predict that little if anything will happen with Schultz and any APD brass. We've not seen anything happen yet, and since it seems only front-line officers are held responsible for anything, why would we expect anything new to happen....  Enjoy your Scotch Rob, you earned it.

Nov 16, 2014

Meanwhile, the Greasing of ABQ Continues....

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, Greenwood & Streicher LLC
 
 
 
Citizens of Albuquerque, how does it feel to be greased?  Scott Greenwood and Tom Streicher, the two out of state people (Greenwood & Streicher LLC) Berry hired to represent you with the Department of Justice have been “working” for nine months and the tab is going to be $500,000 plus expenses!  Expenses like first class travel, booze, hotel room for their dog, travel time from Scottsdale, steak dinners at the end of their driving day, etc.  The Eye does not see anything in the consent decree that required this type of “outside” consulting.  Tourek and Berry should be ashamed of themselves for being lazy, incompetent and poor stewards of our money. Imagine if these were transit employees enjoying lunch at the Library while on the job?!?  We only hope that the city council puts an end to the Greenwood & Streicher LLC grease job.
 
This picture might help the City Council end the Greenwood & Streicher LLC contract.  Remember when Scott Greenwood denied that he and Streicher accepted any pay from Taser International, when he appeared before the city council earlier this year.  Several councilors stated that if this was shown to be a lie they would move to end the Greenwood & Streicher LLC contract with Albuquerque.  Even though Taser has attempted to remove all traces of their connections with Greenwood & Streicher LLC your Eye found this from March 3, 2014:
 

Tom Streicher is making a presentation for Taser on March 3 2014, weeks before Scott Greenwood tells the Albuquerque City Council that Greenwood & Streicher never have received pay from Taser.  I guess they do it for free, sic.  Notice the picture says “GREENWOOD & STREICHER LLC”  TASER TECH SUMMIT.  Notice the audience members have TASER around their necks, kind of like the citizens of Albuquerque and the Taser contract that is around their neck. The Eye wonders if Taser paid any expenses for Greenwood & Streicher LLC, or is that something only the citizens of Albuquerque are charged for?
 
Will the city council bring Scott Greenwood and Tom Streicher back before them and ask them to explain this picture? If Greenwood & Streicher LLC are doing work for Taser for free, how about extending the same “free” contract to the citizens of Albuquerque for their consent decree work?  Greenwood & Streicher LLC may claim that Taser did not pay them directly, but how about if they paid a third party who then paid Greenwood & Streicher LLC?  Greenwood & Streicher LLC are not appearing at Taser summits for free, that is common sense.  The city council needs to hold Greenwood & Streicher LLC accountable for not being truthful with them about their Taser employment.  You learn this in law school, you have to disclose to your client any conflict of interest.  Has Scott Greenwood forgotten this?  Therefore the city council should help him remember and hold to their promise.
 
A picture is worth a thousand words, end the Greenwood & Streicher LLC contract now!
 
One of our Eyes forwarded us this little gem:
 
 
That's a nice little niche market our friends from Cincinatti have, first they say "hey PD, you need to become a Constitutional police department by videoing every encounter. And by the way, have we got the product for you!!"
 

Nov 10, 2014

Very Vanilla!

Innovate Albuquerque, Very Old Vanilla
 
 
Under Richard Berry’s absent minded leadership, Albuquerque has found itself in an economic Sargasso Sea.  Going nowhere and floundering.  Hot and stinky. Albuquerque is the only major American city that went back into recession, yes Albuquerque we are #1, we are the only city who has had a double dip recession! Thank you Richard Berry we couldn’t have dropped so low without your abysmal leadership.
 
To turn Albuquerque’s economy around Richard Berry decided to team up with business folks and UNM and create INNOVATE ALBUQUERQUE. 
 
In the financial world we are taught that past performance is a good indicator of future performance.  In history we learn that if we ignore the past we are doomed to repeat it.  Based upon the Board of Directors for Innovate Albuquerque we are doomed to fail.  These are the same people who got us into this mess.  So let’s look at who is on the Board of Directors of Innovate Albuquerque (look closely at the pictures there will be a test at the end):
 
Richard Berry
David Harris
Richard Larson
Terry Laudick
Sherman McCorkle
Charles Wellborn
 
Patricia Vincent-Collawn is being discussed as the final (7th) member, but she has not been confirmed yet.
 
OK Albuquerque, look at the pictures of the six men who are on the Board of Directors, notice anything?  If you guessed they are all old, white businessmen who have overseen the economic decline in Albuquerque over the last five years you would be right!  Now let’s look at the demographics of Albuquerque:
 
White 42%
Hispanic 46%
Everybody else 12%
 
Men 49%
Women 51%
 
Ignoring the fact that these six white guys have been in charge while Albuquerque has failed economically, why is this board of directors not a mirror of our community?  Does Richard Berry really not know any Hispanic business owners / community leaders?  Does Berry not know at least three other women who are business owners / community leaders?
 
Innovate Albuquerque is doomed to failure.  It is run by a group that does not represent Albuquerque and this same group are the old white guys who got us into this mess.  So please call Richard Berry (505 768 3000) and ask him, Do you only care about rich white men?  It seems like it.
 
                                                                                                                                   --Desert Hawk

Nov 6, 2014

"I Told You So" by APD Retired Sergeant Paul Heh

The Eye wants to once again thank retired APD Sergeant Paul Heh for stepping forward and calling it like it is. Below is a correspondence we recently received from him:

"Dear Eye,

Over a year ago I told the Albuquerque voters that APD was a wreck and the city's economy a disaster all thanks to nobody else but RJ Berry. I said that all of this was avoidable because during Mr. Berry's original transition he knew EXACTLY what the problems were with APD and how to fix them. But of course he did nothing. In an article I presented to City Council in 2010, I showed how they knew about what APD's problems were and what was going to happen if they didn't get a handle on it. Attached to this email is a copy of the report talking about corruption in police departments.


 But no, everybody said "Paul it's not that bad, go away." Well guess what, we had a chance to fix things ourselves but now that time has past. Now the DOJ is gonna make us fix things and boy is it gonna be expensive. In the report the author noted that corruption is only fixed by, guess what? Quality recruitment, quality FTO training, fighting political pressure, fair and consistent accountability, fair career survival training, positive leadership models, keeping officer morale high, high character role modeling, and leadership with integrity. APD hits 100% on this list of things and it's not a good list to be happy about.

Of course while these are all things built into DOJ's consent decree agreement, the fact is the lies continue and I suspect little will be done." 

Nov 2, 2014

A House NOT In Order

A little over two years ago, APD's then chief Ray Schultz held his usual Tuesday "Chief's Staff" meeting with all of the department's top brass. Included in this meeting were the department's current deputy chiefs, commanders, and lieutenants. This meeting was just a few days after the US Department of Justice announced they would be investigating APD for unlawful patterns and practices involving use of force and Constitutional rights violations. Below is a copy of part of a memo issued to all by Ray Schultz


Yet as we saw in DOJ's "trick or treat" present last Friday, APD does not exactly have its house in order. In fact it's pretty clear from DOJ's report that APD is the equivalent of a house wreck that's days away from being foreclosed upon.

From the dissolution of units to over 120 hours of mandated training per office per year, APD is going to managed in a way that defies belief. Our many Eyes are telling us there's a weird calm within the department as not only does it feel adrift but the brass can't provide any answers to anything. While Berry likes to say the process will only take an extra $4-6 Million per year he's concealing the fact that the work officers will be doing will be reduced by as much as 50% because of all the additional time required of them to abide by all of the new procedural and training requirements. So in essence we'll be getting half the service for the same cost. That's called inefficiency and thanks to Berry and his team he just double the cost of this department.

But in a true spirit of make believe, RJ Berry is trying to  position the department's failure as a marketing effort to show that when it comes to mismanaged departments nobody does it like the team of Berry and Eden. Really? A year ago we were told how the department's management has led it to be one of the best department's in the country. Now because of its utter disgrace we now can be models for disgrace. Maybe it's the whole "Nature at Play" thing that still rings in our ears. But isn't it time for some accountability? Where is the chief who predicted DOJ would find APD's house is in order? Where are the former deputy chiefs that stood by and let this happen? Where are the city attorney's that assisted in the failures of this department?

Berry talks a good game about accountability. To us it seems that's one thing that's missing in this department and in this city: there has been NO accountability for the situation where we in. And until there is, nothing will change.

Oct 30, 2014

Meanwhile in Sandoval County...

WHERE THERE IS SMOKE, THERE IS FIRE!


Periodically your loveable Eye receives rather interesting information that reminds us that the corruption that runs rampant in Albuquerque is not some special to Albuquerque. Take for instance, our friendly sheriff of Sandoval County, Mr. Doug Wood.  Below is a letter we received a few days ago. Thanks to some help we've verified the info. So as folks in Sandoval head to the polls, they might want to think again when it comes to voting for the incumbent sherrif...

Incumbent Sheriff Doug Wood, arrested....


The Eye on Albuquerque has been responsible for exposing corruption and malfeasance
extensively in the city of Albuquerque over the years. We have dealt mainly with issues in "Our
House." Some people see this site as a way to get the truth out about the unfairness,
discrimination, vindictiveness, retaliation, lies, harassment, nature at play, civil rights violations,
and outright criminal acts involving corruption. Some see it as a way to vent their anger in rowdy
lewd tirades that cut directly to the bone. And those who perpetrate the above acts thinking no
one is watching realize that they are wrong. These are the people that detest and despise this
forum. They hate it for what it does. Right, wrong or indifferent, you have to agree that attention
needs to be paid to things, or what you get is what we have here, a city out of control. Because
of the word getting out of the exposure we here at the Eye can provide to those seeking to put
out information, we have been receiving correspondence from people all over the state. Below
is one that we think relates to things close to the city and may show that the dirt runs deep.

Eye on Albuquerque,


I would like to commend you on your efforts to expose corruption and fight for what is right in

your city. It is obvious that it is making an impact due to the many followups on articles in the

media that stem from some of your blog entries and obvious inside contacts.


I know you have your own battles going on, but I ask of you to please print this if you see fit.

Back in August of this year, the 21st to be exact, the Sheriff of Sandoval county had an

altercation with the family members of a Deputy from the Sandoval county sheriff's office who is

running for sheriff in the election against him. The incident happened inside the Range Cafe in

Bernalillo. An elderly gentleman and woman voiced their displeasure to the Sandoval County

sheriff Doug Wood over his petty antics involving the up coming election. The woman was the

mother of the Democratic candidate Jesse Casaus. The elderly gentleman was her brother. The

argument was verbal, until this Sheriff showed his true colors and grabbed the man by the back

of the neck. This was totally uncalled for.



I have family and friends all over the county. I also have friends in Albuquerque and I follow

current events on the situation there too. Many of them have city jobs and hear things.

I am concerned. I am very concerned that if this Sheriff is not kept in check, we will have here

exactly what you have going on there; officials who think they can do whatever they want to

whoever they want by breaking the law any time they wish.



Over the last six months I have seen Doug Wood parking his Hummer in the County lot with his

posters and election signs all over it. I have seen him, his under sheriff, and a heavy set captain

with glasses campaigning while on duty and wearing uniforms. Sheriff wood goes around

digging post holes and putting huge signs on people's private property without their consent or

permission. Many of these residents are elderly and feel intimidated. They do not want the signs

there, but they are afraid if retaliation if they say something about it.



After hearing about this, I dug a little deeper and found out that Wood was arrested for felony

vin fraud and several other charges. This man was also accused of domestic violence and had

a restraining order put out on him. I do not understand how this person was elected to sheriff

with all of this in his past. I have friends who work in the labs and just one of these issues would

disqualify them from having a security clearance. If you listen to Wood everyone else is the

problem but him. This is disturbing to say the least. What I found more disturbing was the fact

that Albuquerque's chief administrative officer Robert Perry was Doug Wood's lawyer. This was apparently when he was a private attorney. If this is the same person I see on the news all of the time

bullying people, there is no doubt in my mind that we have a huge problem here in New Mexico,

and the corruption runs deep. If in any way this information can prevent the type of situation

going on in Albuquerque, please put it out there. Also, please take a look at the information I

sent with this e-mail.



Sincerely,

(Name withheld due to fear of retaliation)

The Eye would like to commend the above citizen for their concern and for doing the right thing.
This is not the first time we are hearing about this. A few weeks ago one of our eyes reported to
us that Sheriff Wood likes to threaten the smaller police departments within his jurisdiction with
the revocation of their Sandoval County commission cards for not doing his bidding. We here at
the Eye wonder if this is the reason that Bernalillo PD has not charged Wood with the above
mentioned incident. Just last week one of our LE eyes reported to us that the huge pot grow
bust up in the Jemez mountains that Doug Wood is taking credit for had nothing to do with him.
As a matter of fact we were told his office blew off several complaints on the issue. It was the
DEA who had to step in, and take the initiative to locate and process the grow. And finally, we
are hearing that Wood has destroyed morale so much so that several Deputies are
contemplating leaving the agency if Wood wins the election. So yea, where there is a lot of
smoke one has to say there is fire somewhere. There sure looks to be a lot if smoke up there in
Sandoval county. There seems to be a like minded narcissism and bully mentality within the
upper ranks of law enforcement. One thing is for sure It is spreading like wild fire and it’s out of control This sounds all too familiar folks.



Oct 26, 2014

Meanwhile....Over at AFD....


You remember a few weeks ago how it came to our attention that the brains running AFD had required personnel to deploy on their engines in below minimum staffing requirements. And then how one of the chiefs in charge of that order told his troops to remain silent or otherwise face certain retaliation even though he knew that it was his own department's failures that was the cause of putting his firefighters needlessly into harms way.  Well it seems things are getting worse for the beleaguared AFD deputy chief currently known as Victor Padilla.

One of our followers informed us of a few more items AFD Deputy Chief Vic Padilla would prefer the media not to know. It has come to our attention that in 2003-2004 Deputy Chief Padilla practiced as an AFD paramedic for approximately seven months without a license. AFD Deputy Chief Padilla broke the law and practiced medicine without a medical license! From our view point, AFD's administration is looking more and more like APD's administration everyday! How many patients were treated by Mr. Padilla and were injured as a results of his malpractice or were needlessly not treated.....

In addition to practicing medicine without a license Deputy Chief Padilla is now facing multiple Federal EEOC complaints. We understand that these EEOC complaints have teeth and because of that Chief Padilla is now looking to jump ship. Our eyes tell us Chief Padilla is attempting to purchase time to be able to retire. We here at the Eye wish Chief Padilla all the luck in the world with that endeavor. AFD will be a better organization after his departure.,,,,

Oct 25, 2014

Watching the Watchers Watchers Part II

The Eye received the following from retired APD Captain David Gilmore. It seems Kent Walz has now put the k'bash on Mr. Gilmore as well. So much for freedom of the press when your largest account is with the administration paying you right Ken and Jerry?

"APD's usage of the lapel cameras for the often stated purpose of transparency is simply out of control. According to the Journal's story(8-27-14) the officers are spending up to 20% of each shift ,uploading and logging footage they record.  An officer working an eight hour shift or 480 minutes minus 30 minutes for lunch is now down to 450 minutes to handle calls for service.  Of those 450 minutes we can subtract the 20% or 90 minutes and find the officer is now working only 360 minutes or 6 hours of an 8 hours shift. This means he/she is spending one and a half hours of not doing what he/she is on the streets to do, protect you and me.  For argument sake let us say that 380 officers work the  streets and the minimum pay for a Patrolman 1/C is $26.00 per hour.  An officer is now tspending 7 1/2 hours a week or 375 hours a year at the cost of $195 per week or $9,750 per year to care for his videos.  Applying the hours and costs to the 380 officers on a yearly basis we end up with APD mandating the officers to spend 142,000 hours a year and $3,705,000 on "transparency tapes".  To make matters worse these figures do not include the roughly 600 other sworn officers/supervisors/command personnel that are required to utilizes the video system nor the time and cost to retrieve them for the news media and attorneys.

Unless these cameras are run from the start of the shift until the end, officers will forget to turn them on or not have time to engage them during spontaneous/threatening incidents.  We need to merely recall how Chief Schultz and Deputy Chief Banks failed to turn theirs on during their use of force at a State Fair parade.  Should APD insist on using the cameras they should fall under the same guidelines as the tape recorders of the past did.  That being they would be used for a short list of calls that were enumerated in the SOP, and the officers should be held to accountable for the recordings.

Personally I do not want to be video taped by anyone to include law enforcement.   I am sure this holds true for many citizens, witnesses and victims of crimes.  Nor do people want the inside of their homes video taped.  There are even some discussions with the criminal element better left not being taped.  The  issue of anonymity in reporting a crime has now  become a problem.   I am being told that Metro Court judges are now dismissing cases with no video, if that is the case shame on them as they should not need a video to decide guilt or innocence.   For those who insist on running these tapes from the beginning to the end of the shift consider the following.  Would you take a position that required the taping of your entire workday for 25 years?  The officers have a certain right to privacy, to be able to have personal and frank discussions between themselves, to blow off steam.   I had often wondered if APD's overly aggressive taping was the result of supervision issues? 

As for the Ferguson, Mo. shooting I am sure that the other investigative tools that have been used for decades will resolve the issue.  Let us not forget the video is only a tool and cannot relate an officers state of mind during a critical incident. Between the lapel camera issue and the "historic legislation" pertaining to the new police oversight agency that some members of the city council are so proud of is it no wonder the morale and work ethic of many APD officers continue on a downward spiral"


--David M. Gilmore (APD Captain, Retired)