It's time for our weekly update of public liars.
Between Banks' statement last week concerning Omaree and last summer we have to again give the recognition to Allen Banks. Last August, interim chief Allen Banks said upon being appointed chief of APD, "This is
my community. My kids attend APS schools. Without question, I love doing
what I am doing. I love this community, I love taking care of this
community. I think we have a wonderful, wonderful department, and I think bigger and brighter things to come."
But of course we now know Banks had applied for the chief of police position in Round Rock, Texas. shortly thereafter if not beforehand. And then kept it a secret while everybody assumed he'd be the permanent APD chief.
We bet the answers on his PIQ to the RRPD would be really interesting given that his presence in Albuquerque since Aug 3, 2013 has been nothing but one long intentional fabrication. For Example:
Q: During a background investigation, is anyone likely to report that you have
any personality characteristics, which would make you unsuitable for the
position you are applying for?
Q: Have you ever been accused of misconduct at a place of employment?
Q: How many times have you falsified your work record (time sheet)?
Q: Do you have any civil court actions pending?
Q: Are you now or have you ever been involved as a defendant in any civil court action?
Q: Have you intentionally omitted any fact or facts from your application or
withheld any adverse information from your background investigator?
Q: Have you ever lied or distorted the facts in an official police report?
Q: Have you ever lied or distorted the facts while testifying in court?
Q: Have you ever withheld evidence seized in the course of your official duties?
Q: Have you ever been the subject of a civil or criminal prosecution as the result of your
actions as a law enforcement employee?
Q: Do you have any civil or criminal litigation pending resulting from law enforcement
employment?
Way to go Allen, and don't forget to show them how you satisfy their PT standards.....
Feb 10, 2014
Feb 9, 2014
When Leaders Don't Follow SOPs: A Letter from Retired Sergeant Paul Heh
First, I want to be real clear in saying that there’s
nothing we can do to bring Omaree back. His murder was senseless and tragic and
it breaks my heart.
His death was a horrific tragedy which doesn’t just give us a
black eye here in Albuquerque, it gives the entire state of New Mexico one.
When I look back at my 30 years as a police officer and
think about what I have heard APD’s chief Allen Banks, CAO Rob Perry, and the
mayor say over the last week regarding the calls to Omaree’s house I really
don’t know what to say. We have in place police department rules and procedures
that have served the citizens of Albuquerque perfectly fine up until Berry took
over. Then everything went to hell because those rules and procedures are treated
as optional and discretionary.
It seems that whether or not rules and SOPs have
to be followed depends on who has to follow them and not what needs to
be done.
This is unacceptable.
Banks and Perry this week said the officers at the June 2013
call did not follow SOPs and better have “damn good reasons for it.” Well, Mr.
Perry and Chief Banks, neither of you followed SOPs when you were at one of the
highest profile crime scenes in the city’s history. I haven’t heard a “damn good reason” for why
Chief Banks didn’t write a mandatory police report at Mary Han’s death scene.
Of course we know Mr. Perry wrote a report, but FOUR MONTHS later! Why the
delay Rob? Was THAT only because people started asking questions about her
rings? Are you going to let those two
cops write reports now after the fact like you were apparently able to? Is there going to be an investigation as to why these two didn't write reports?
This is what I mean, they say, “Oh you must do this because
the rules say you have to” but then they turn around and don’t do it
themselves.
Police need to be led not just by words but by action. If they
see that it’s ok for you not to do it, then why should they do it? And believe
me, there is no greater group of people who notice the difference between what one
says and what one does.
Folks we don’t need a task force. We need to follow the
rules we have in place. We have an entire Crimes Against Childre Unit to address crimes like this. What we need to do is make sure our leaders are held to the same
if not higher standards than the front-line guys and gals. DOJ is here because
people have been allowed to break rules and have not been held accountable. Sometimes
those rule breakers have been frontline cops. But a lot of the time they have
been department leaders. And the ones that have looked away and endorsed the
rule breaking have ALWAYS been department leaders. Isn’t that right Ray?!
You can’t find a bigger task force than the one here from
Washington named D-O-J. And it starts at the top, NOT at the bottom.
Paul Heh
APD Senior Sergeant (Retired)
Feb 8, 2014
ALERT: DISTRACTION TECHNIQUE DEPLOYED!!!!
When confronted with a leaked 911-call record, the three stooges played all their hands instead of taking responsibility and holding themselves accountable. However way you "peel" this, they fail.
Are we really to believe they didn't know about the call? If so they fail as administrators and leaders. Period.
But worse, what if they knew about the call recording (and the at least THREE other reports our Eyes tell us exist) but withheld it from the media? Well, nature hates a vacuum and we were all witness to what happens when that occurs. Mayors, CAOs, and Chiefs get on camera and try to explain, backpedal, pontificate, and make excuses because the music stopped and they can't find a place to sit.
Our Eyes tell us though that good old TJ Wilham has been spinning things hard and fast behind the scenes in how to TRY and distract us from his employer's failures this week. So while the city WITHHELD information pertaining to the tragedy of Omaree, what do they PROVIDE in the last 24-hours?
The city released info about how Berry inserted himself in a bet between the Denver mayor and the Seattle mayor by sending a box of green chile. Chile is what we're proud of huh?
The city released a lapel camera of an officer tazing a suspected felon (we'll request our senior APD eyes to refrain from analyzing the stop, fugetaboutit). Tazing is always fun to watch huh?
But what isn't fun is the on-going lying and manipulation by Banks, Perry, and Berry. And notice how the Albuquerque Journal's editorial staff has been silent all week on the mess. Watch how they come out with something chastising the field cops and give cover to Banks, Berry, and Perry.
Yeah, we've seen this game of distraction before. It's old. And boring.
Feb 6, 2014
Malfeasance, Misfeasance, and Nonfeasance
Well it's been quite a week for Albuquerque's Mayor, RJ Berry, his CAO, Richard Perry, and his police chief Allen Banks.
First we had the release of the disgusting open 911-call from 4909 Commanche NE in June 2013, several months before a young Omaree was brutally murdered.
But Banks says he didn't know about that 911 call.
Then we at the Eye revealed that not only did APD officers fail to honor their oath and do anything at the call or follow basic SOPs, but then they milked it for almost 2 hours letting other squademates in their area command hop calls while they did who knows what.
But Banks didn't know that.
When confronted with these facts, Banks was nowhere to be found, and CAO Rob Perry went before the media claiming an IA investigation was under way and the officers had been placed on administrative leave.
Banks was no where to be seen.
Why?
Our Eyes tell us that Banks was in Texas attending a certification by waiver class mandated by the Department of Public Safety so that he is licensed to be a cop in that state.
Of course, Banks reappeared because, our Eyes tell us, the absentee mayor demanded he come back and deal with this mess. And of course in Albuquerque the "mess" means finding out who leaked out the 911 audio tape. Obviously the mess has been left to fester because Banks has been asleep at the job and looking for greener pastures. And Perry is running around being a tough guy. Where of course is Berry, well for 41 days he's been hiding in his little hole hiding.
Berry of course, finally came out, and made about as much sense as, well nothing, "we have to start, and we can't start and finish in one moment in time. We have to, you know, we have to start at the moment where a child died at the hands of their parents, at least that's the allegation."
(Here's his entire interview: http://www.koat.com/news/target7/Full-Interview-Mayor-Berry-speaks-on-Omaree-Varela-case/-/9259798/24336524/-/mfic7oz/-/index.html)
No RJ, we don't start there. That is where we end.
Because this mess began when APD Officer Jara had a chance to intervene and was nonfeasant in her duties to act and she didn't. Then the following June, we had the misfeasant actions of Officers Vigil and McMurrogh when they intentionally faded a call and milked it for almost two hours.
But worst of all, we've had the malfeasant conduct of APD Chief Allen Banks. This is the conduct that was willful and intentional and has harmed this community and this department. For months, nothing has been done to determine what the failures were that led to this mess. For weeks we have heard no ownership or accountability of the suppressing of this story. And for days we heard nothing about what the city is going to do to hold those in charge accountable.
Well know we know why, Banks didn't want this spilling out and affecting his new job in Round Rock, Texas. It can only be surmised that these revelations were intentionally suppressed because Banks knew they would jeopardize his job prospects there. In other words, he put his private interests first instead of the public he took an oath to serve. And Perry and Berry reinforce that behavior.
Sadly, all across the city there are dozens of Omarees that are going back to their own nightmare's called home. And Berry/Perry are doing nothing to model the behavior that we expect of them. We are being told it's ok to avoid responsibility. Heck we'll just spend $50,000 on a task force that will tell us what we already know: We failed Omaree.
This is not policing. This is not community service. This is not government. This is deception and abuse. While the perpetrators of Omaree's murder will surely face the consequences of their actions, we, once again, are being left holding the bag while our overpaid CAO and the administration of APD rests in total failure.
P.S. One of our Eyes forwarded this, nice to see former APD diminutive deputy chief Castro being a cheerleader for Banks. He posted this on the Round Rock Police Department Facebook page:
Feb 5, 2014
Another Incident of Berry's Incompetence? OR Coverup?
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| Liar Liar |
“There are many aspects of this call which are extremely troubling. In consultation with the Mayor, I have directed that Chief Banks conduct an immediate and thorough internal affairs investigation in order to get to the bottom of this case as quickly as possible. If it is determined by the internal affairs investigation that officers involved did not respond in accordance with proper procedures, swift action will be taken to hold those individuals accountable.”
Huh, maybe Perry would be better served having the city's Inspector General investigate this mess since we know Perry is in the middle of it? Are we really to believe that these people, who cite statistics to the tenth-percent are now suddenly ignorant of their own department's failures? What happened with no decrease in service, decreased demand for officers, and decreased incidents of crime?
Oh right, now that it involves something that is damaging, it's all about what we don't know.
Please. We at the Eye have some very serious questions. Questions that will shed light on whether the city's failure to provide public safety services for this little boy was because of incompetence or coverup.
1. When did Banks / Perry / Berry first know about the June 22 2013 event? Omaree died on December 27 2013. Did it really take 40 days for someone who isn't the Chief of Police to order an IA investigation? And really, we are to believe they didn't run calls for service at the house on Commanche NE?
2. Why wasn't this investigation ordered back in December 2013 when the investigation into Omaree's death exposed it?
3. When did Banks / Perry / Berry know about the June 22 call and if KOAT had not exposed the June 22 2013 incident, would there have been an Internal Affairs investigation?
4. Banks is the Chief, so why is it that Perry / Berry are publicly saying "upon consultation" they ordered the Internal Affairs Investigation now, February 4, 2014. It seems Perry / Berry are trying to find political cover by saying they are now stepping in and doing Banks job. Why didn't Banks order the investigation back in December 2013? Why did Banks stonewall KOAT?
5. Is this the reason Banks stonewalled KOAT, for over a month, when they asked him for comments on Omaree Varela? Was Banks hoping this would not come out until after he left for Round Rock? Will Round Rock reconsider their choice?
6. Will Berry finally hold someone high up at APD accountable for the debacle APD has become and dismiss Banks? Will Berry hold Perry accountable and dismiss him? Perry appears on TV for everything and seems to run the city. Does Berry believe the buck stops with Perry and Banks and fire them? This stinks of cover up and no accountability. Berry refused to fire Schultz all through the Costales $1,000,000 lawsuit, the Ellis $8,000,000 lawsuit, the DoJ investigation, the Nature at Play department, the antics of Banks / Perry / Wilham / White at the Mary Han crime scene etc. Will Berry finally decide to take control as mayor and fire the guys at the top, thereby showing us he can hold people accountable?
7. Will Berry come out of his bunker and see his shadow (his political career disappearing) and hide? Or will Berry finally step forward and take control of this city and police department, hold Banks and Perry accountable?
8. Perry lambasted these officers for better having a "damn good" reason for not filing a report at the June 22 call, is Perry going to hold Banks to that same standard for high profile incidents where Banks tampered with crime scenes and/or failed to write reports?
At the same time KOAT was reporting more on Omaree at 10 pm, KRQE was coming with this Larry Barker story. A pretty good story about APD employees violating the law, knowingly approved by the brass at APD.
At 6:30 minutes into this video Banks takes responsibility for the DUI Seizure Unit not following the law. Gee thanks, (sarcasm). Does Banks feel the same way about Omaree? Does Banks feel the same way about how APD has handled all calls related to Omaree? Better yet, does Richard Berry, that invisible mayor of Albuquerque feel that Banks / Perry are responsible? Will Berry come out publicly and hold Banks / Perry responsible for how poorly they have run the city and police department? Perry recently tossed Schultz under the bus, and that might be the easy thing for Berry to do now that Schultz is gone. Schultz was running the place (although out of town) during at least two Omaree incidents. But Banks / Perry were the ones here when Omaree died. They were here when it came that murder investigation exposed June 22 2013 incident. Yet no IA investigation until February 4, 2014!
Watch what happens tomorrow. All we will hear from Banks / Berry / Perry will be silence. They will not have further comments. They will be in church praying this goes away.
Could it get any worse????
Feb 4, 2014
1 Hour, 44 Minutes
On June 22, 2013 APD Officer Gil Vigil and Scott McMurrough from the Northeast Area Command were dispatched to a priority-1 call involving an in-progress event where a child was in danger. The officers were relatively new to the department and worked for Sergeant Bruce Werley on a dayshift squad. The dispatch involved a 911 call to emergency at 1:24pm and the cell phone line was open where the dispatcher could hear and relay what was going on in the background.
The dispatcher diligently transcribed the horror she was hearing as two adults verbally and mentally abused a small boy. They taunted him. They mocked him. They cursed at him. They degenerated him. They hated him.
Because the call came in on a cell phone, the dispatcher's supervisor frantically worked to identify who the owner of the cell phone was to relay this information to the two officers dispatched to the call.
In the call the dispatcher relayed the information to the officers as it was an on-going event and she kept them updated and she updated the computerized dispatch with what she was hearing. When the officers arrived.......they did nothing.
As you know by now, this call was yet another plea for help by a young boy we know as Omaree. The dispatcher informed the on-duty sergeant of the call and he answered over the radio, "10-4" at 1:38pm. Officers Vigil and McMurrough logged their arrival at 4909 Commanche NE at 1:47pm.
And then they did nothing. They didn't say they made contact with anybody at the house. They didn't run anybody for warrants. They didn't inform their supervisor with an update. And their supervisor didn't ask.
When the dispatcher checked on them at 2:10pm, they said they were OK.
When the dispatcher checked on them again at 3:14pm, they again said they were OK.
Then the officers closed the call out at 3:31pm. They did not update the dispatcher with ANY information. They did not file ANY report about the incident. They never said if they contacted ANY body. They never updated anybody about the WELFARE of the child.
Now of course, because APD cannot police itself, they are being forced to with a story breaking tonight on KOAT. These two officers are now on leave our Eyes tell us. And we're sure we'll hear how Rob "33K" Perry will get to the bottom of this.
Spare us please. Because it is not the bottom of this that concerns us. Sure, there are about a dozen SOP violations Vigil, McMurrough, and Werley are in violation of and are probably facing significant discipline if not termination. But this coverup, and that what it is, goes all the way up to soon to be former Chief Allen Banks.
The murder of Omaree happened on his watch. And while this incident occurred under Schultz's watch, it is Banks who hid behind IPRA requests instead of doing the honorable and right thing. The tragic history of 4909 Commanche NE is well documented in APD's records and in the minds of the neighbors.
Why would Banks keep this information concealed one asks? Maybe that is a question best asked of the city manager of Round Rock, Texas. Mr. Norwood, if you knew that a prospective candidate for your police department omitted significant information regarding a high profile child murder, would you have hired him to lead your police force? If you knew a prospective candidate put his career first and in front of justice to determine how such failures led to the death of a small child, would you still hire him to lead your police force? If you would, then you get what you deserve.
For almost two hours, Officers Vigil and McMurrough "milked" a call and did nothing. And that is what Omaree's last impressions are of the people who are supposed to come ensure safety.
Nothing. Just like what we and the business community see from the city's mayor RJ Berry. Nothing.
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