Call for service - that's how APD describes your call for help. One of the problems over at APD is that they don't have enough officers. APD claims 998 sworn officers; our Eyes tell us that number is really closer to 800.
Recently APOA President Ron Olivas was speaking to a Westside neighborhood association meeting. He was telling the association members about the manpower shortage that is edging toward a crisis and how there are too few officers available to take calls for service. About that time he noticed Deputy Chief Michael Calloway was in the room.
Shortly after that observation, Sergeant Harold Medina showed up and towing the APD company line, refuted everything officer Olivas had to say. We imagine that the neighborhood association members were confused to say the least.
Fast forward to Wednesday night... An urgent call goes out from APD dispatch. There are over 70 (that's seven zero) calls for service waiting and dispatch is urgently calling for help from every specialized unit citywide - DWI, SWAT, K-9, everyone - to take calls for service.
You see, every officer assigned to take calls, your calls for help, was already helping another person in need, another person who called for help. Our Eyes tell us that they had never even heard of this type of urgent request being issued. In fact, the action by dispatch Wednesday night was unprecedented.
Manpower problems are not exclusive to APD. The city of Santa Fe has gone so far as to consider helping immigrants get green cards in order to serve as SFPD officers. As police protection is the most basic and fundamental function of government, it's time that APD, the council, and the mayor all get a handle on this manpower crisis before someone loses their life due to the inability to send an officer to their aid.
36 comments:
People might be a bit more willing to become police officers (and risk their lives every day) if they got paid more than the average McDonald's manager.
It's not even that, although the cash would help. It's the politics, the lawsuits and the way that officers have to take every punch in the face and then kiss the dirtbags behind that makes even cops not want to be cops. Society is getting far to selfish to produce selfless heroes in the quantities needed to man the battlefield, put out the fires and catch the bad-guy. Society needs to rethink the leashe that they have put on law enforcement. Mayor Marty's famous quote, "guns and badges answer to suits and ties" tells the whole story of how society thinks that police are unable to manage themselves. We are reaping what we have sown, thowing money at the situation will not change the mentality that is at the root of the problem. Cash is only a part of the solution.
Toeing the line. You are at the line and do not stick a toe over the line.
Sorry, that makes me crazy, and I've been seeing alot of it lately.
And what the second commenter said? Right on the money.
It comes down to politics. If a department put city politics ahead of its central mission then everyone has lost interest. when the chief is no longer under the mayor's thumb the department will grow.
One of the ways that APD could better serve the citizens of Albuquerque would be to get rid of the SWAT team. This team is essentially used to murder people, due to the tactics it uses. It sucks up lots of money in specialized training and equipment, and really serves virtually no good purpose. Freeing up such resources should help the situation.
Henry you don't have a clue.
There was a story in the Journal, a number of years ago, that stated that there were two times a day that Santa Fe had zero officers on the street due to shift changes and a lack of personnel.
First and second commentors are right. Money indeed is a big part of it, and they don't get paid enough. This come from most citizens. It's too bad that the suits and ties( and that mentality) don't have the integrity that most officers have. As far as I'm concerned there isn't a politician that is qualified to shine their shoes. We appear to have money for every thing under the sun, but when it comes to protecting the public we won't budge on the budget. As for the Cheif, he needs to stop taking orders from the mayor and start working for the citizens(and his troops) and cease with the bullshit that Marty has him touting to us. If not, maybe Marty should STRAP on a gun and hit the streets.
Well, to the anonymous commentors who think my suggestion of getting rid of the SWAT team was so poor, it might be useful if you would (if you are sufficiently articulate) state just why you think it is a poor idea. If my suggestion is so obviously poor, showing it is poor should be easy. It is true, though, that SWAT teams in general (and the ABQ team in particular) have a pronounced tendency to murder citizens without good cause.
Perhaps if our fine constabulary was not engaged in pulling citizens over for refractive plate covers (to the extent of getting "Officer of the Month honors, as noted on this very blog), hands-occupied cellphone violations, and now lightin' up a Lucky on the streetcorners, they'd have more time to devote to REAL CRIME!! I won't even enter the arguement about the SWAT Team. They are probably busy enough at Lyons and Paradise right now.
Who the hell is Henry Bowman?
Who Cares......
Mr. Bowman, I think that since you threw out the accusation, of murders "without good cause", the burden of proof is yours. Show me the name of any SWAT Officer who has been indicted on murder charges and I might consider listening to what you have to say. I know though that you will not be able to provide proof. Oh, sure, you will claim some thin blue line conspiracy garbage or something of that nature. Truth is, everone who reads you comment will see it for what it really is, an uninformed opinion that is based on some outlandish belief that all killing is murder. APD SWAT sniper Steve Rodriguez put is best on 60 minutes when Mike Wallace tried to have his way with him. He said, "Everytime I pull the trigger it saves a life. It may be the hostage, another officer or myself, but each time I pulled it, an innocent victim lived." Top that Mr. Bowman!!!!
As well, Steve had 5 (FIVE) "Murders" and 0 (ZERO) indictments by the time he retired from APD.
There is nearly one state-sponsored murder of a U.S. citizen per day, nearly all done by cops. Below is a sampling of some of the notorious cases. But keep in mind that the ABQ police blew away a fellow just a couple of weeks ago for no good reason, other than he did not submit to the murderers as quickly as they wanted. And, don't forget the ABQ SWAT team that blew away a completely innocent citizen several years back as part of a drug raid on a neighboring property. The unfortunate victim called 9-1-1 to report suspicious personnel (the black-robed cops) in his back yard. The cops saw him on the phone and shot him dead through a window. They were in the wrong yard, it turned out. Really quite threatening to see the guy on the phone. So sorry, they say, but nothing ever comes down on them.
Here are some of the more notorious cases:
Kathryn Johnson: http://www.theagitator.com/archives/027763.php
and http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/11/27/atlanta.shooting/index.html
Derek Hale: http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2007/03/death-squad-in-delaware-case-of.html
"Jaime" Dean: http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2007/05/another-victim-of-warfarehomeland.html
A compendium of similar cases:
http://www.cato.org/pub_display.php?pub_id=6476
To assert that modern-day cops, especially SWAT team members, are not simply well-trained murderers is to put your head in the sand.
All other emotions aside...
"One of the ways that APD could better serve the citizens of Albuquerque would be to get rid of the SWAT team. This team is essentially used to murder people, due to the tactics it uses" Really? What are those tactics and how does it "murder" people?
"It sucks up lots of money in specialized training and equipment" How much of the budget does it suck up?
"...and really serves virtually no good purpose" Resolving situations where an armed offender has barricaded himself is not a good purpose???
You make some very broad statements and besides posting some links that present a skewed perspective I would indulge you to answer the above questions honestly and/or intelligently. At the very least disbanding APD's SWAT team would simply command more of a drain on resources whenever a critical incident unfolds...
Mr. Bowman, I am still waiting for the names of any Officers indicted for murder from the APD. As for your statements that you are making about the events that caused officers to shoot someone, I believe that unless you were there, you are in no position to lecutre me or anyone else on what happened. You speak as if you have first hand knowledge. I suggest that you find a better use for your imagination and stop making reckless accusations. . . . by the way, still waiting for the names of indicted officers.
I wonder how many times Mr. Bowman has been arrested or convicted of a crime. Maybe had a SWAT Team at his home? His statements must come from his history of contact with the APD.
"People might be a bit more willing to become police officers (and risk their lives every day) if they got paid more than the average McDonald's manager." - good joke!! Better go back and do your research!!
There is some truth to the murder conspiracy....Unfortunately, Police Officers are trained with a "Shoot to Kill" mentality, stemming from the fact that dead men can't sue. That's why they fire several warning shots to the head! Rarily do you hear of the subject being taken after firing a single dhot to the groin....
"by the way, still waiting for the names of indicted officers." - that's the problem - duh - they never indict their own!!!&*^$$%^
I read that the total compensation package for a 5-year APD Veteran is about 90k..(not all cash)...I think a bit more than a McDonalds manager...let's get real folks!
If I had my druthers, I'd have the Swat team drop all these a-holes including grafitti vandals. Scoop 'em up and just put the maggots in the dumspter. There. Coming form Joe citizen, John Q public.
"shoot to kill" mentality??? That's classic and totally ignorant...it's about as good as shoot the bad guy's hands when he's coming at you with a knife or a pistol.
$90K not all cash a year? What does that mean and who's crack pipe were you smoking? I think they slipped some meth in for you! Maybe if you're in DWI which basically means you have two jobs....40+hours patrol and 40+hours in metro court! $90k/year...that's funny!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Got news for the person thinking that officers never indict their own. I was just waiting for the "blue wall of silence" garbage to get thrown out there. Take a civics class buddy. The Grand Jury that hands out indictments is not made up of Officers. It is made up of citizens, thus the word, "Jury". Last I heard, the cops dont have the citizens in their back pocket.
As far as the post about dead men not suing the department, that may be true, but their families sure do. They ask for millions and millions but judges and juries usually don't give them a dime. (guess the judges are in our pockets too). Give it up cop bashers. You will not find a sympathetic audience here. Try googling "liberal cop hating blog, albuquerque" I am sure that there are some people who are interested in hearing your strange conspiracy theories. On this blog you just look silly and uninformed.
I sure hope I never find myself in urgent need of police help. From the looks of it these men and women are doing the best they can with officers working hard to answer calls for assistance. In the meantime we the taxpayers and citizens of Albuquerque are continuously lied to by the mayor and chief about the true numbers of officers. As usual the mayor appears to have his own political interests in mind. As for those of you who sit home with no appreciation for the hard work our officers do, I dare you to put yourself in harms way on a daily basis. Next time you find yourself in need of police help call a meth head (I hear there are many to choose from in this city) maybe they won't be so quick to be so trigger happy as was eluded to in one bloggers comments.
Well said!
For those idiots who seem convinced that cops can do no wrong [the scumbags won't even identify themselves: I assume they are members of Albuquerque's 'Killer Class', that is cops], here is yet another example of cops gone bad. I suggested earlier that such examples occurred perhaps 3-4 times per week. I am now convinced that such examples occur at least daily.
http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2007/06/private-vices-public-crimes.html
(and many others)
Further, everyone should be aware that THE POLICE HAVE NO (REPEAT, NO) LEGAL OBLIGATION TO PROTECT YOU! They only have an obligation to investigation a crime. They DO NOT PROTECT ANYONE!!
Let's face it, many cops are murderers, plan and simple!
Henry
Henry,
Trust me, if the cops were such killers as you seem to think that they are, we would have ALOT less politicians in this city. And ranking officers in the PD. And cockroaches. And transients. And crackheads. And spiders. And drunk drivers.
And paranoid delusional tinfoil hat wearing psychopaths like hmmm? You? Dude, guess what? They really are out to get you now.......
Henry, I read the book you stole your "name" from, that Henry didn't really have much against cops, he just liked guns, beer, freedom and keeping America going on the right track -sort of seemed to think a hell of a lot like I do - most cops I know have more in common w/that Henry than you do.
You are a tinfoil wearing sheeple and you know it. Most of the guys who write like you do lost lunch money in school and never got over the pants pissing fear you felt waiting for the bell to ring so you could go get your beating. Here's an idea, go to one of those los vecinos meetings with every other relative of some s**tbag who cops have shot over the years.
Nah, he's just a pigeon...just takes a dump and flies off...no balls whatsoever and still pissed he can't get his name on any write-in ballot
Henry, Henry.....you have way too much time on your hands, and really have no clue about what police officers do. I bet your one of those guys who drive around town following officers trying to catch them doing something wrong and filing complaints that really make no sense or have any value. You should be more concerned about pulling your head out of your ass and smelling reality. I cant even believe you have enough brains to even type on a keyboard. Your what is called an "oxygen thief" which is a capital offense, punishment for that crime is a headshot by APD's SWAT Team!!!! hahahahahahahaha
Henry,
I think you watch to much TV. Just because TV cops get into shootings every show and can shoot a gun out of a running dirtbag without aiming does not mean it happens in real life.
Cops only take a life to save one. In real life the dirtbags are shooting at the cops and/or trying to kill someone.
If APD (SWAT)is like you say murders then they would be involved in shootings everyday, not just once or twice a year. And if APD were murders then with over a million citizen contacts a year there would be no more Henrys in the city.
Why don't cops put their names? Easy to answer they can get in trouble at work. Plain and simple.
The Police/Fire Unions should NOT back the MAYOR again! He's A LAME DUCK MAYOR. He's DONE FINITO ...............! You all in public safety don't have to worry about the DRUNK DRIVER/WIFE BEATER/BAD FATHER anymore ............! MAN I can't wait until 08' .....!
Go Marty! I can't wait until you are Govenor..
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