I just read your article about the police use of force in Albuquerque. I am disappointed.
I have lived here since 1964 and have a fair idea of what goes on here.
1) I do not trust the Justice Department’s report. This is the same DOJ who refused to do anything about the Black Panthers in Philly.
2) EVERY time our police use their weapons there are protests. Every time, period. Every criminal has a family member weeping on TV about how innocent and wonderful they were. Meanwhile, the criminal have drugs in their pockets and guns in their hands.
3) We have two city councilors, O’Malley and Winters, both Demoncrats, who I am convinced would rather see dead cops than imprisoned criminals. I am not joking. I am tired of seeing their faces and hearing their voices defending criminals caught in the act. And yes, even though there are abundant Hispanic officers on the force, they always claim or suggest racism. (O’Malley works for a part of town known for their gangs since I was a child in the ’60s.)
4) The police chief who was at the city council meeting was the new chief assigned after the death of James Boyd. Why go after him?
5) The lead agitator at the council meeting is a far left associate professor from UNM here in Albuquerque. You should have seen him grandstanding on the local news.
6) Several years ago our police department had two of their most experienced officers killed in the line of duty by a man with “mental illness.” That same man killed an additional three people including a city employee and a 17-year-old boy at a motorcycle shop. The idea pressed by the agitators that we should treat the mentally ill as harmless, loveable, little fuzzball is STUPID, and our local police know better.
7) The individual, Boyd, had an extensive criminal record including several assault and batteries against the police. He was not harmless.
Here is a rule: If you don’t want to be shot, don’t pull weapon on a cop.
There is a whole lot more that some actual investigation would have revealed regarding the Boyd story.
I wish the police would investigate and charge those protesters at the first city council meeting because they physically removed the councilors from their chairs. That is assault and battery under Albuquerque statute.
Note: I am not now, nor have I ever been, a police officer.
Jeff Childs
Albuquerque
