SCHULTZ’S PIO HAS A BIG MOUTH AND DOES NOT FOLLOW RULES

As reported on Channel 7 News (READ IT HERE), Ray Schultz’s PIO, Robert Gibbs, apparently cannot follow the rules.  Gibbs was caught bickering with a military veteran over a Facebook posting.  According to the story Gibbs stated to the military veteran, “Go get a psych eval soon, before you eat a gun. Not that that would be a bad thing -- actually, it would be an instant community improvement.” On Saturday, May 11, 2013, Gibbs was directing heavy traffic on Avenida Cesar Chavez and Bradbury Dr. S.E. Once again shooting off his big mouth and breaking rules.

Gibbs acting childishly over a comment by a military veteran, Gibbs lashed out making an ugly and repulsive statement.  Do you want this copper to show up at your home when you have a problem?  What is he going to say to you to “help” solve your problem; “…eat a gun.”  This guy is scary at a minimum; perhaps Gibbs is the one who needs a psychological evaluation?   Posting this nasty comment on Facebook for the entire world to read is clearly unprofessional and conduct unbecoming an officer. Of course since Gibbs is one of Ray Ray’s boys, he will not face any disciplinary action where Schultz has fired other officers for violating his Facebook policy.

Most recently Gibbs was directing traffic for the UNM Graduation Ceremonies at the UNM Pit.  Gibbs was standing in heavy traffic without a police reflective vest or a protective police helmet as was the other policemen who was with him (at least the other policemen was friendly). One may guess that Gibbs wanted to look “cool” while he was out there in traffic. At one point a pedestrian stated, “Boy, you guys are really busy!”  To this statement Gibbs replied sarcastically and facetiously, “That’s UNM for you! Always prepared… ‘NOT!’” This was trashy and clearly uncalled for.  What is the purpose of bashing UNM?  As the spokesmen of APD let alone a field copper, Gibbs should act appropriately and professionally at all times. This guy needs training in customer service, in leadership and in ethical behavior.  And perhaps a review of the PD’s rules and regulations that govern behavior and doing traffic control for the citizens. 

Maybe Skotchdapo​l from the IRO’s office can go knock on Gibbs door and tell him he is a copper and intimidate him like Skotchdapol did with one of future Mayor, Paul Heh’s campaign workers.  Mr. Skotchdapol, did you get a traffic citation “fixed” by someone from the City Attorney’s Office?  It is illegal to tamper with a legal document, right?

We all know this type of behavior is reflective of the leadership of APD and this explains why the community is displeased with the Chief and the PD as a whole.  A few bad apples ruin it for the rest of the department which are honest, decent and hardworking folks.

 

Albuquerque's Independent Review Office has Another Problem

Since 2000, Bill "Trey" Flynt has been an investigator with the city of Albuquerque's Independent Review Office. The IRO is the primary office which receives and processes complaints against APD officers. Upon receipt of the complaint (known as a CPC), either the IRO handles the investigation of the complaint or it is assigned to personnel in APD's Internal Affairs unit.

Any officer who has been the target of a CPC, or a witness, or a supervisor has undoubtedly come in contact with Mr. Flynt. Mr. Flynt's reputation as promoting himself as the most knowledgeable IRO employee and the most experienced of IRO investigator's precedes himself. Now it seems Mr. Flynt has let his overconfidence get the best of him.

As recently reported, Mr. Flynt was caught selling counterfeit NFL jerseys. But not only was he caught unlawfully doing this thanks to his self-promoting ads on Craigslist.com as a direct supplier where purchasers can "bypass middlemen" but he apparently did this on City time and on City property. You see Mr. Flynt sold to an undercover news crew! Given that as of this posting the city's transparency site states that Mr. Flynt earns $25.40/hr and has year-to-date earnings of $46,736.00 we wonder what time he spent "investigating" was actually in furtherence of his on-line retail activities? Given Mr. Flynt committed these crimes while at work, it seems his timesheets should be subject to scrutiny to see if we taxpayers paid hiim while he was working outside the scope of his official duties!

Making matters worse, our Eyes have alerted us that Mr. Flynt's activities were widely known on the APD's 5th floor where he frequently gave jerseys of the favorite teams of department leaders and other personnel. Given it seems that it was widespread knowledge that Mr. Flynt was up to no good, why did Chief Schultz and former IRO Deaton permit this activity to continue? What did they know and when did they know it?

Lastly, because Mr. Flynt's activities involved interstate commerce, it seems only natural federal law enforcement agencies should be involved. Our Eyes tells us that exactly is the case in that property and computer in possession by Mr. Flynt have been seized and are being analyzed....Where is Tera Neda when you need her?  Of course Ms. Neda has no family ties to the phony NFL supplier, right?
 

Wouldn't it be ironic if after all the endless incidents of misconduct and crimes by the leaders of APD, that what ultimately brings them down is their own greed for NFL jerseys....?

It should be noted, APD's PIO. Rob Gibbs. said that Trey may not have committed a crime because the buyer "should know" they aren't getting what they're paying for. So in his simpleton logic, because a victim believes they may be victimized, the offender has no longer committed a criminal offense.

 

Caught Lying (AGAIN)

Several days ago our Eyes broke the story about how Albuquerque Police Chief Schultz and Deputy Chief Feist committed egregious violations of department procedural SOPs by releasing officer lapel camera video of the recent officer involved shooting prior to the completion of the investigation. Now KRQE-13 has filed a lawsuit against the city for the APD’s violation of the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) stemming from an incident back in May 2012. You see, reporters routinely request copies of video and audio footage recorded by officers and that material is subject to the IPRA. In this case, it seems there is some controversial footage that APD does not want released to the public despite the fact they have no protections in this case to withhold it. Our Eyes tell us the video involves a suspect who is surrendering and gets Tazed anyway. The department and the city have asserted because there is an on-going investigation into the officer’s conduct, they have an exception to the IPRA requirements. The chief attorney for the city of Albuquerque, David Tourek, stated:

“The City is withholding the video at this time under the law enforcement records exception of the Inspection of Public Records Act due to the fact that law enforcement is currently interviewing witnesses in a criminal case. The release of the video prior to their statements being taken could compromise what they say and the integrity of the investigation. Upon completion of the investigation, the full video will be released."

Excuse us? Did Chief Schultz and Deputy Chief Feist not just release video footage of an officer involved shooting just days ago? Was that video not released before the completion of the criminal investigation? Were the statements by Chief Schultz and Deputy Chief Feist of such detail and particularity because they were spoken before all of the witness interviews were completed the integrity of this latest shooting is now completely compromised? And from being compromised has APD not just once again failed the officers who were involved in this latest dangerous incident AND compromised the criminal investigation against the heroin dealers who were the targets of the original investigation? Are Chief Schultz and Deputy Chief Feist going to be held accountable for actions monumentally against the city’s interest and in direct conflict with the City’s Chief Attorney Tuorek and the City’s Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry?

The media and other bloggers, Joe Monahan in particular, wonder why all the states around New Mexico seem to have their economies revitalized and growing in prosperity while stagnation runs rampant in Albuquerque and most of New Mexico. Could it be that when hypocrisy is this gross and obvious it impedes any hope or optimism? If they lie about the simple policy regarding videos, what else will they lie about? If they choose to violate state statutes like IPRA, what else will they violate? Of course Mayor Berry is nowhere to be seen in this, for that would require leadership. We’d say it could not be more obvious that the leaders of APD are out of control and are not interested in doing what’s right but only in evading responsibility for their mess. But our Eyes tell us, it is going to get worse. And the citizens and businesses are clearing enduring fatigue from this on-going miscreant behavior by many of the state’s leaders.

P.S. We at the Eye wish to congratulate former Officer Tank Guenther for being cleared of all of the heinous charges brought against him. We applaud the Santa Fe county District Attorney, Angela Pacheco, for dropping the criminal action against Mr. Guenther. Of course APD was quick to terminate Mr. Guenther for the unsubstantiated felony charges. But now, as Mr. Guenther ponders the effort to restore his name with the department, PIO Officer Robert Gibbs asserts that Mr. Guenther was not fired because of the charges but because of “administrative issues.” We at the Eye would like to know what exactly those other “administrative issues” are because our Eyes tell us, no other issues were asserted during Mr. Guenther’s Lauder mill hearing. Could it be that once again, APD’s Chief Schultz is caught lying???