The Albuquerque Police Department under Chief Ray Schultz and soon-to-be former Mayor Martin Chavez has decided change the department issued weapon from the Glock 9mm to a Smith and Wesson 9mm. The move has upset a number of officers who view the Smith and Wesson as an inferior weapon.
In fact, a number of line officers complained about the move citing the Glock's reliability and historic performance. Anyone who complained was summarily shut down and cadets will begin training on the Smith and Wesson next week.
It's not unusual for Chief Schultz his 5th Floor to ignore officers, but this time Smith and Wesson gave the Chief, Deputy Chief Castro, and The Once Almighty Alcalde a little extra incentive. According to our Eyes, Schultz, Castro, and Mayor Chavez all received complimentary weapons a couple of months ago courtesy of Smith and Wesson. 30 days after the "gifts" were given, APD decided to drop the favored Glock.
Officers have been carrying the Glock for years. The double action pin-fire weapon has a track record of firing under almost any circumstance and when your life is on the line you want your weapon to go boom when you pull the trigger.
Look, we're not against APD evaluating their side arms from time to time. And we're not against the department making a change. But this time, it looks as if the decision was at least partially based on the freebie firearm given to the decision makers.
We've got serious reservations about Marty packin' heat - that's just all kinds of scary. But more importantly, elected officials and their cronies shouldn't be accepting gifts from contractors. If Smith and Wesson popped for a few pistols, what else did they do to sweeten the deal?
It really doesn't matter what the value of the "gift" was - though most 9mm handguns cost over $1,000 - accepting a gift from a vendor prior to awarding a contract looks dirty and is dirty. It may be petty corruption, but it's corruption none the less.
This is just one more example of why all of the current occupants of APD's 5th Floor need to be shown the elevator. First and foremost, effective policing requires the trust of the public. Taking a goody gun from a vendor and handing them a contract undermines that trust and puts both officers and the public in danger.
44 comments:
This really doesn' t surprise me because "corruption" was ranked as number one on the Eye Poll. Thank goodness that Martin Chavez got voted out! Let's see what RJ Berry can do for Albuquerque. I'm looking forward to RJ Berry terminating all those people Martin Chavez hired, too!
I wonder if the Glock corporation knows this is going on? Think it be worth a call?
COME ON NEWS PEOPLE !! Catch Up
Isn't this illegal ???
ISN'T THIS ILLEGAL???
NEWS PEOPLE; WAKE UP
THEY SHOULD BE FORCED TO GIVE BACK THE WEAPONS AND GO THROUGH A LEGAL BID PROCESS. COME ON. WE'VE BEEN OVER THIS A MILLION TIMES
Mike Castro gets a parting gift.
Funny how this all comes at this time?(ONLY FAIR SINCE HE GAVE $4,000,FOR THOSE CAPTAINS BARS AND ANOTHER $2,000 FOR THOSE THREE STARS)
Something wrong with this picture?
Hell why don't we just rip off as much stuff as we can before we leave?
Which reminds me; Marty & Nick; the city needs the art work put back in the museum warehouse. You know,all the pitures hanging in your houses.( and statues of bare breasted women in 'nasty's' yard too)
Talk about rape(ing) and piliging.
Next thing we'll hear is that Greg Payne has been given a bus as he drives it south (loaded with whores) to fense in Mexico.
NEWS PEOPLE; WHERE ARE YOU FOR GOD'S SAKE????
Don't laugh. Greg uses the busses parked in the yard as whore houses now.
You go boy !!
He's gettin his share.
If Smith and Wesson gave the mayor, chief, deputy chiefs and others with the city firearms then the new contract should be voided and the U.S. Attorney should be investigating. If this happened this is a kick back on a very large scale and the only one in New Mexico who seems to put politicans who take kick backs in jail is the U.S. Attorney.
I think we need a regular media source, KOB, the Journal, Larry Barker etc to look into this and provide the truth.
Nobody has ever claimed that any of those people receiving a free gun from Smith & Wesson ever had character. What circle of hell does this corruption qualify them for? These people are not leaders, and aren't even trustworthy enough to be officers.
what about the new anti-gift ordinance?
We used to have the Smith and Wesson, what a piece of junk.
I think it is so funny that Marty isn't even trying to hide his corruption now, not that it wasn't blatant before.
"And their eyes shall be opened, and they will see the truth".
Wakey up Albuquerque, it's a whole new day.....
This website cracks me up. The decision to get the new guns was made in late August...way before Schultz even had his toe in the city's door. One of the local news stations did the story a while ago.
Darren will cover for Ray BOY! Just a month ago Ray BOY threw Darren under the media bus, Haa.
The Dept did away with the s and w 5943 in 1995 because it was crap...but this is simple cost cutting..they know the officers hate this and will buy thier own weapons and save tons
The next thirty days shredders will be a smokin.Lots of hide and seek. Watch out for falling rocks
Whats the concensus, will the mayor keep ray or not/?
Has anyone seen a DC or the Chief lately? If they have they will see that they still have the Glock. The dept decided to move to the Smith and Wesson for one simple reason... It has a hand grip that is adjustable. Unlike the Glock (which has only one size hand grip) the Smith and Wesson can be tailored for many officers hand sizes. Making the weapon easier for many more officers to manipulte.
And to those people that say that S&W was junk in 1995, you are brilliant. Thats like saying that a laptop was garbage in 1995 therefore one should never purchase a laptop. technology has improved slightly in nearly 15 years.
I encourage all of those that read this blog to do some fact checking before you come to any conclusion for yourself.
Of course the new Mayor will keep Ray, he can't perform the surgery to seperate Darren from Ray.
go ray and take all of your corruption with you
Answer: Will Dareen keep Ray or not?
what do you think?
Greg Payne is going to be PIO.
No bid was needed, S&W are providing the firearms free of charge. The department has to purchase the holsters and mag pouches.
If you choose to be issued the S&W it must be your primary weapon, you cannot use it as a backup.
Glocks will be sold for $350. Not sure if it includes the holster.
Believe once you purchase the Glock you can still use it as your primary just like buying a 45 cal.
THE GLOCK IS ONLY WORTH $250, ITS USED AND MANY ROUNDS HAVE BEEN FIRED
Eye, don't know where you shop for your weapons, but if "most 9mm handguns cost over $1000" there, you need to check out Ron Peterson's Guns!
thank you Deputy Chief for clarifying the above in reference to the weapons. Why don't you ever sign your name? You spend plenty of the City time on this blog.
You all are toooo funny. berry is mayor, Darrne is the new Sheriff in town and your still baggin on Chavez. Let it go already you freakin whiners, I mean winners.
The Eye's fourth paragraph appears to suggest that the most imprtant feature of the APD's sidearm is reliability/knock-down power. Why then is is the argument about the Glock vs the S&W. Get a real sidearm and learn how to use it....Colt .45 1911.
Eighty-plus years of service in muddy, dusty war zones worldwide saving the butts of Americans against the likes of the 9Mike-Mike should be all the resume' needed to convince APD to use them.
If it's too heavy for you, you're in the wrong line of work!
THE NEXT MOVE WILL BE, YOURE ONLY ALLOWED AMMO ONCE A MONTH IF CARRY THE SW, AND AT QUALS YOU WILL HAVE TO PROVIDE YOUR OWN IF YOU DONT CARRY THE SW. ITS COMMING. DANG BERRY I HOPE I VOTED FOR YOU FOR AREASONA DID NOT WASITE MY VOTE. LETS MOVE TO 4 10S, THAT WILL UP MORALE ABOUT 85%
It’s not about the free firearms it’s about the lack of honesty, integrity and the double standards that the chain of command has. The so called leadership of this department has always had the attitude of do as I say not as I do. I am a firm believer in leadership by example. We have heard Ray Shultz lie to the public but yet when a field officers lies he gets fired. We have all witnessed the shady Internal Affairs investigations that get the thumbs up or down depending on who is being investigated. Nothing will ever change on this department until honesty and integrity is restored.
Officers should be mandated to spend time at the range. That would nearly eliminate the complaining about grip size. What's next, free shots of adrenaline for officers who are too slow to catch people? The Glock is simple to use, simple to shoot. It's a great gun for the majority of cops who don't care about guns or shooting. And in .45 it actually has a chance of putting someone down without costing the taxpayers a bunch of money while they recover in the the ICU at UNMH!
Poster Oct. 24 @ 5:10--You really shouldn't post while drinking. You could be cited for that.
Ohhhhhhh come on now EYE....you can't really think that a politician and his sidekicks took something for free do you? It has never happened before and why would Marty start now on his way out the door?? OK OK I know... I can't convince myself they are honest either.....
The S&W M&P is very similar to the glock. Tests show just as reliable and the grip is adjustable for smaller hands. The dept has been issuing it for 2 years now to those officers that need the smaller grip. With an aging Glock armory and the deal S&W was offering it only made sense. The transition has been in the works for close to a year now. The product is much better than the older Smiths. If yo9u dont trust them, buy your Glock aqn carry it.
Smith and Wesson have NEVER made a good semi-auto, the M&P included. There is a superior handgun with an adjustable backstrap. It's called the XD (M) and it is made by Sprinfield. More reliable, better accuracy and it comes from a quality handgun maker.
The reason why so many officers need the smaller grip these days is because APD is hiring a bunch of 5'2" 110 recruits. The grip for the Glock 9mm is very small and if your little hands cant hold it maybe you should know your place and be at a cash register ringing up groceries !!!
What gun to use? The Glock? The S&W? Shultz and Chavez are corrupt? Why is it that everyone on this blog is concerned with what everybody else is doing? Worry about yourself, and prehaps you will have more success and happiness in your profession. If you can't do that find a profession that will make you a more positive member of our community.
Looks like the dept traded one piece of crap for another. Both guns should be on sale at the dollar store. Try a Colt or a Sig if you want to feel a real gun.
Lets talk about the past shooting this year. Why is everything so quite. The DA's Office doen't appear to be reviewing them very quickly.
THE DA'S OFFICE DOESNT REVIEW THEM AT ALL. DID YOU FORGET THAT KARI AND RAY RAY IN BED TOGETHER. THE SHERRIFS DEPT HAD THEIR SHARE OF BAD SHOOTS TOO. MANNY GONZALES AND THEY HAD ONE A COUPLE OF YEARS AGO ON A DITCH BANK. WHERE HAVE THOSE GONE TO?
three APD suicides in 2009 and counting....
Monica, Will and who is the third?
In responce to the Oct. 27th 6:58 AM comment I would like to set the record straight. Manny Gonzales was only involved in one officer involved shooting on February 9th, 1994 which was published in the Albuquerque Journal on February 10,1994.Deputy Manny Gonzales wounded a suspected drug dealer while performing his SWAT duties, the suspect fired three times. Manny Gonzales defended his life,as well as other officers and citizens .After the District Attorney's office investiagted this shooting it was ruled justifiable.Captain Manny Gonzales has an flawless record which is beyond reproach. He has always represented the Sheriff's department in honorable fashion.
In responce to the Oct. 27th 6:58 AM comment I would like to set the record straight. Manny Gonzales was only involved in one officer involved shooting on February 9th, 1994 which was published in the Albuquerque Journal on February 10,1994.Deputy Manny Gonzales wounded a suspected drug dealer while performing his SWAT duties, the suspect fired three times. Manny Gonzales defended his life,as well as other officers and citizens .After the District Attorney's office investiagted this shooting it was ruled justifiable.Captain Manny Gonzales has an flawless record which is beyond reproach. He has always represented the Sheriff's department in honorable fashion.
It is appropriate to worry whether your fellow officer can shoot. Otherwise they are just a target with a badge. As a citizen, I sure hope the officers I call can handle a situation.
Who's the 3rd? Ask little Mike he knows...
Post a Comment