Sheriff’s Department Mimic Keystone Kops

The Eye was taken aback by the action of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department during a recent police pursuit. As reported in the Journal (see here) convicted felon Roy Holliday failed to stop for deputies earlier in the day. A second attempt to apprehend Holliday failed when Undersheriff Ron Paiz blocked an escape route on a dead-end street that Holliday went down. This is when the “Keystone Kops” routine started.


Paiz was in an unmarked Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department vehicle. The article does not state if Paiz was in uniform or recognizable as a law enforcement officer. Taking into account that Holliday is and has been a convicted felon for some time, the probability of another criminal looking for Holliday is highly probable, not-with-standing, law enforcement. When Paiz responded and set up what appears to be a possible “roadblock,” at the mouth of a road that dead ended. Paiz waited for Holliday to return to the mouth of the street to exit the area. This is where Holliday tried to escape and where Paiz’s vehicle was hit. The alleged “ramming” of Paiz’ vehicle lead to a police pursuit. The Journal article claims that Paiz was not hurt and his vehicle only sustained minor damage.


There are several issues that come into question:


Did Holliday mistake Paiz’s vehicle as a regular car and not a police car, since it was not marked?


Did Holliday mistake Paiz for a “regular Joe” and not a law enforcement officer?


When Paiz obstructed Holliday’s’ path, did Paiz leave an avenue of escape for the offender which is mandated by case law?


After Holliday fled, did Holliday pose an on-going and continuous threat to life or peril to the public?


Was this perceived threat or actual threat monitored constantly to see if it was appropriate to terminate the pursuit?


Was this pursuit simply hurt feelings?


Doesn’t “ramming” another vehicle cause significant damage?


If Holliday was not worthy of a continuous pursuit earlier, what gave legitimate rise for the Sheriff’s Department to initiate this pursuit?


Shouldn’t a supervisor have realized the flaws and immediately called off the pursuit? Shouldn’t have Undersheriff Paiz called it off?


The media like the Journal enjoys coining key words such as, police “chase.” Children “chase” each other; police officers engage in pursuits to apprehend criminals. This is a huge difference.


Sheriff Houston should be applauded for his actions up to this point. Houston has raised the Sheriff’s Department from the dust and rubble to a higher level of professionalism that was left behind by Darren White. However, Sheriff Houston should ensure that his department adhere to the standard custom and practices amongst the law enforcement community. This pursuit does not appear to meet the standards that the public feels comfortable with and should be investigated. Pursuing a person who is no longer a threat for fifteen minutes during rush hour traffic is absolutely insane. This case has vicarious liability written all over it. If a pursuit is legitimate and bona fide; the community will always stand by law enforcement.


The public already knows that it is useless to file an I.A. complaint on an issue such as this one. White and Baragiola had a standing policy about I.A. (Internal Affairs) Investigations; if they liked you, no investigation no matter how serious the offense. If you were not liked, J walk and you’re fired! That is not public perception, it’s the truth.


Sheriff Houston will have to break out the shovel to clean up all the shizzle that White left behind. Trutouch was only one mess White left for Houston; there will be more to come like the mess with the Sheriff’s Departments’ I.A. Unit. Sheriff Houston should release the radio dispatch tapes of this pursuit to the public in order to maintain public trust and confidence, and to prove transparency.