Preferential Treatment

By now we've all heard about Jason Daskalos flying the DWI coup with the help of former officer (and according to our Eyes soon to be re-hired officer) Ben Kirby. (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required) At the time the Journal quoted APD Chief of Police Ray Schultz as saying, "this is obviously behavior we don't condone... We expect our officers to make better decisions." According to our Eyes officer Kirby has maintained that he was simply transporting Mr. Daskalos to the West Side jail and not removing him from custody. In other words he was trying to expedite the DWI booking process.

Fast forward to April 17th, 2007... According to our Eyes an officer made a traffic stop on suspicion of DWI. The driver of the vehicle turns out to be retired AFD captain Ralph Ortega, who is also the brother of AFD Chief Robert Ortega. Following procedure, the first officer called in the DWI officer on duty who performed a field sobriety test and determined that Ortega was intoxicated and began the long booking procedure.

So far nothing untoward has happened. While in the midst of booking Mr. Ortega, the DWI officer received a phone call from the acting lieutenant for the Valley Area Command and was instructed to expedite the booking process for Mr. Ortega and to personally transport him out to the West Side jail. According to our Eyes, the order to expedite came from Chief Schultz and Nick Bakas, who until this week was in charge of public safety (AFD and APD) for the City of Albuquerque.

Normally DWI suspects are taken to the PTC (Prisoner Transport Center) to await transport to the west side jail. The PTC was established so that officers could return to duty as soon as possible and not have to take each prisoner out to the jail personally which could take them off the streets for hours.

In this case, the Chief and Nick Bakas decided that it was more important to expedite the booking of Mr. Ortega, than to make sure that the arresting officer was freed up to protect the public from other drivers who might be out over indulging. In addition, our Eyes suspect that Mr. Ortega was "walked through" the jail and was out the back door shortly after he arrived. Normally, the jail will not release you until you are at least below .08 BAL. In this case, Ortega asserted his right not to take a breathalyzer, which more than likely meant he would be spending the night.

Why is all of this important? After all, this is just another one of many DWI cases that plague the city and clog the courts. The problem here is preferential treatment and it happens far too often down at city hall. If you know somebody or give enough money, you'll be treated better than the average citizen. That's flat out wrong.

Whether you are a patrolman or the chief, the mayor or the director of public safety, you have the obligation to treat everyone fairly and by the same standards. Those standards should not change depending on the person's race, creed, color, position, who they're related to, or how much money they gave.

In this case, Nick Bakas and Chief Schultz did exactly what officer Ben Kirby was fired for. They ordered that the fire chief's brother be walked through the process, circumventing the standard procedures and inconveniences that everyone else must face. The result... An arresting officer was so steamed that he put the order in his report. And to make matters worse, the media is after that arrest report and the fifth floor is worried that it will make them look bad. It will and you do.

Perhaps Chief Schultz should have made a better decision... because his decision is certainly something that all of us cannot condone in our police department or in our city government.

----- EDITORS NOTE -----
We have intentionally withheld the names of the lower level officers involved even though they will end up part of the public record. Our intent is to protect these officers from the reprisals that all too often follow revelations like these.

Lemons and Lemonade - The Art of a City "Promotion"

We've all heard the old story about making lemonade from lemons; Mayor Marty has built his entire administration around the artful manipulation of the media. Today we saw yet another example of the city spin-meisters mixing up a fresh batch of that refreshing summer drink and the Albuquerque media gulping it down.

We've got to admit it's a great storyline... immigrant son rises to head the agency that his father worked for as a janitor. We were even treated to the obligatory "only in America" quote. Yesterday, the city announced that the city's chief public safety officer Nick Bakas, would be taking over the reins at the Albuquerque Sunport.

The Journal jumped on the storyline (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required) and a glowing article about the immigrant son led readers to believe exactly what the city wanted you to believe... that the move was a promotion for Mr. Bakas. Our Eyes were buzzing almost before the presses stopped running.

The Eyes have it that the move of Mr. Bakas from Deputy Chief Administrator in charge of public safety to director of aviation is a result of some dissatisfaction with his tenure as chief of chiefs. We've told you of his role in the Mark Shepherd hiring and The Eyes are saying that he played a role in the firing of officer Ben Kirby who according to our Eyes is to be re-hired because he was improperly let go. A re-hire more than likely means that the city will be paying officer Kirby some money as well.

No matter how you characterize it, the move can't be seen as anything better than a lateral move. In fact, Mr. Bakas goes from a high profile position running two public safety related agencies to an almost no profile job running an agency in a field in which he has absolutely no experience.

According to the Journal's lemonade piece "Chávez said Bakas will continue to have a role in emergency management and anti-terrorism issues. It's unclear if he will be replaced as chief public safety officer." (Subscription Required) Our Eyes beg to differ telling us that retired APD Captain Rob Debuck has been tapped to replace the outgoing Bakas. We'll see what develops as we have heard Debuck's name floated for the Deputy Director position currently held by former Sheriff Joe Bowditch.

We don't know how this will end up going down. But we've got a suggestion... perhaps it would be a good idea to eliminate both positions and save Albuquerque taxpayers some money. Or maybe the approximately $200,000 could be used for officer recruitment and retention... Maybe we'd end up with some lemonade after all.

Big Bill's Boy: Martin Heinrich

Yesterday, the governor's favorite blogger (Joe Monahan) announced that Albuquerque City Councilor Martin Heinrich was the Guv's pick to run against Congresswoman Heather Wilson. By this morning KOB, KRQE, and the Albuquerque Journal (Subscription Required) were all reporting the "report" by Joe Monahan.

Heinrich could be considered the darling of the left side of the Democratic party. He's young, well spoken and extremely, uh well... "progressive." He's the type of candidate that would be hard to beat in a Democratic primary. It makes perfect sense that the Guv would implicitly endorse Councilor Heinrich as Richardson is in the process of wooing the same group of "progressives" that Heinrich represents, for his (Vice) Presidential bid.

Democrats believe that Congresswoman Wilson is vulnerable because of her narrow victory over former AG Patricia Madrid. They also hope to stoke the David Iglesias non-story for the next year and a half, further weakening the congresswoman. What they have failed to calculate is that Wilson's victory over Madrid can also be seen as a sign of strength and even with the aid of Chuck Schumer and Joe Monahan (who seems to be able to make everything about David Iglesias) in the end, the David Iglesias story is a story about nothing.

Madrid also had a number of things that Councilor Heinrich does not. First, she had incredible name id. Second, she had no real legislative record that could be hung around her neck. Third, she was riding what turned out to be a wave of discontent with the Iraq war and Republican mismanagement of congress. Madrid failed, narrowly to be sure, but failed none the less.

Despite serving as city council president, Councilor Heinrich isn't well known outside of his district. We'd argue that half of his own constituents in District 6 would have a hard time naming him (not that it's that unusual for a city councilor). Councilor Heinrich also has a long legislative history of supporting things like the minimum wage and the use of condemnation to further his environmental goals (some of you make think that it's noble... we think it's a tyrannical abuse of governmental power).

Lastly, who knows what will happen in Washington or Iraq for that matter... The Democratic leadership seems determined to press the position of troop withdrawal and have tied their future to an anti-war position. This could easily backfire. Terrorist attacks at home, a nuclear Iran, or general instability in the Middle East could leave the Democrat leadership holding the bag. And if they don't succeed, they'll be held accountable by party leftists who are already unhappy that the troops haven't started "re-deploying" stateside.

Either way the DCCC and the Democrats are busy fighting the last election with a potential candidate that couldn't have won that one either. The only difference... 11 seconds. Heinrich will not be caught with his mouth open and nothing intelligible coming out.

No Confidence Clarification

Last night's meeting of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association has a little different twist than we first reported (Ok, Ok... we were only half right). According to our Eyes, the full vote of the general membership has not taken place. Apparently there has been a change in the APOA bylaws that mandates a 30 day "cooling off" period between the motion for a vote of no confidence and the actual vote. The Eyes have it that the change was made after a single meeting vote of no confidence was passed by the general membership involving former Deputy Chief Ed Sauer.

As a result, our earlier report regarding a no confidence vote for Chief Ray Schultz was only partially right (which means partially wrong for all of you half empty types). Last night's meeting put the wheels in motion for a no confidence vote as there is a motion to hold a vote and that motion was seconded, which should result in a vote sometime next month.

Our Eyes are also telling us that the driving force behind the vote is a group of young officers who are unhappy with their pay, the favoritism shown re-hire officers (retired officers who are receiving retirement and pay), as well as what they consider to be Chief Schultz's excessive disciplinary actions. Specifically, the termination of officer Ben Kirby whose termination came after walking developer Jason Daskalos out of the DWI detention van.

We'll have to see whether these young officers have the muscle and determination to accomplish what they have set in motion. A 30 day period will provide time for the chief to "campaign" against the no confidence vote, and for outsiders like city councilors and the chamber of commerce to weigh in on the issue. It is said that both the council and the chamber are big supporters of Chief Schultz, not to mention Mayor Marty's sure to be out there drumming up support.

Frankly, for a no confidence vote to succeed, those opposed to Chief Schultz will have to get organized and be ready to confront a whole host of Schultz supporters and perhaps even some dirty politics. Remember, the 5th floor is more about politics than law enforcement, and the 30 day "cooling off" period moves the game onto their home court.

Union to Chief Schultz - No Confidence

Our Eyes have been busy this week... this time it's Chief of Police Ray Schultz. In this evening's meeting of the general membership of the Albuquerque police union (APOA), Chief Schultz received a vote of no confidence. This really comes as no surprise to those of us who have been watching developments over at APD. There's a general feeling among the rank and file that the department is being run by Mayor Chavez rather than Chief Schultz and tonight's vote may reflect on the Mayor as much as the Chief.

You'll recall that just this morning the Journal ran a story about APD asking for $1 Million to be used for officer recruitment and retention (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). We noticed something curious in that story... "Last year, APD set a record when 67 officers retired." Whether it's as the Chief claims that this situation is something that has "come to a head in the last couple of years," or whether it's another indication of dissatisfaction with the leadership of the department (or lack thereof) is yet to be seen. Or perhaps it's the confusion over whether the mayor is the chief or the chief is the mayor. However, it's been our experience that when people don't have to stay they vote with their feet. Tonight those that can't or won't leave voted no confidence.

You Know the City's Out Of Control When...

We couldn't believe our eyes, so we had to read it two or three times... Eric Griego, comedian, former councilor and candidate for mayor in 2005 is calling Albuquerque Nanny Town! (ABQ Tribune) Yep, that Eric Griego!

Eric is not what we would call a limited government type, so when he starts wondering "if local leaders are getting just a little too eager to tackle problems that are best left to citizens to work out for themselves," something is REALLY wrong.

From cameras to animal husbandry, the Mayor and this City Council have decided that they know what's best for you. They seem to believe that they have all of the answers and all of the good ideas... low flow toilets, cell phone bans, types of water dishes, trolleys, arenas, limiting public comment... where will it end and how far will they insert themselves into our lives?

"Thinking of cruising Downtown? Better not, or you'll be fined. Forgot to fix your dog? Better get a loan. Too many cars parked in your driveway? Better give them away or have them towed. Shady activity going on at your local pub? Not to worry: The nuisance abatement team, aka the Safe Cities Strikeforce, will take Õm down.

Sarcasm aside, there are many great local ordinances that make Albuquerque safer and cleaner for us all. However, I can't help but wonder if we shouldn't limit the number of new ordinances in a year to maybe a few hundred." (ABQ Tribune)

Freedom isn't free and it's also becoming a much rarer commodity in our fair city, so much so that even those who favor activist government are concerned about its intervention in our lives. It's something we should all be concerned about. Nanny Town indeed!

Red Light Cameras: Fatal Flaw

Right around 2:00 AM this morning 17 year-old Zach Hollis blew through a red light at Wyoming and Montgomery and wrapped his vehicle around a Taco Cabana sign. As a result young Hollis lost his life. (Watch the story aired on KOAT here.)

We normally don't talk about fatal 45's (a little police lingo there) on this website, but in this case we believe that it's important to point out that Wyoming and Montgomery is one of the intersections "protected" by Marty's photo enforcement system. During Councilor Winter's Red Light Camera Town hall meeting supporters often cited previous accidents that they or a loved one had been involved in, as a reason to keep the system. This morning's accident points out that you cannot replace police officers with cameras.

We're quite sure that Mr. Hollis or more precisely his grieving family will be receiving a "ticket" for his actions in about 10 days. However, the cameras while dutifully recording this tragedy are worthless when it comes to preventing it.

Police officers can do things that cameras cannot - they can prevent tragedies. When someone is stopped for running a red light, speeding, weaving, or even the heinous crime of putting a license plate protector on their vehicle, the officer's standard procedure includes running the plate, the license, and checking the driver's insurance. More importantly, the officer has the opportunity to observe the driver and any passengers in the vehicle for suspicious or illegal behavior. In other words, he can use his judgment.

We know that there are not enough officers out there to prevent every accident. In fact right now, APD is facing a serious manpower shortage and is asking for $1 Million dollars to recruit and to retain officers (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). Our Eyes in the department also tell us that the 998 officers claimed by APD is shall we say... an inflated number. Otherwise, why would they need the $1 Million dollars?

It all comes down to this... you can't replace the police with cameras because cameras cannot prevent crime or tragedies like this morning's. The Red Light Camera system simply enriches companies like Red Flex and governments like the City of Albuquerque; they don't make us safer. That's the problem with the cameras... that's their fatal flaw.