The letter below comes to us from Ret. Capt. David Gilmore. Many of our Eyes have expressed their feeling about Ret. Captain Gilmore. All have lauded him as an exceptional leader.
Retired Officer John Corvino another victim of a downward spiraling Albuquerque Police Department?
Recently the Journal ran a story regarding a lawsuit filed by Officer Corvino against the APD claiming retaliation. Officer Corvino's 80 hour suspension was the result of alleged insubordination, bringing the APD into disrepute and releasing confidential information. The insubordination appears to have arisen from his unwillingness to sign a statement he thought was not factually correct, one that he himself did not generate. I would think that the training records of the APD should be public information and I do not understand how such information is confidential. At a quick glance APD's transparency could be called into question, again.
It appears Officer Corvino believed he had a valid concern with respect to the integrity of APD. After bringing forth the issue of his concern to upper echelon personnel all they had to do was produce the proper documentation demonstrating that the instructors were in fact properly certified. This would have settled the matter. APD should have appreciated Officer Corvino's concerns as they could come back to bite APD on the backside in a future civil action.
Officer Corvino worked with me in the Southeast in the late 90's. I found him to be an honest, hard working officer as did a large number of his peers. If the actions by APD brass caused the untimely retirement of Officer Corvino it is very unfortunate for the citizens of Albuquerque.
I will be following this issue with great interest.
D.M.Gilmore
Retired APD
