Overkill

A lot of people don't remember that I was once the New Mexico Director of Alcohol Beverage Control. This was during a time that licenses sold for over a half million dollars and corruption had ruled in that department. Governor Bruce King appointed me to go in and clean up the mess and revamp the licensing system.

Amongst other tasks, we were asked to enforce the laws against illegal sales of alcohol from backyards on Sundays, private clubs and eating establishments. We would send in an agent to make the buy and then issue a citation to the guilty party. They would then have to appear in court to pay a fine.

Today the Albuquerque Journal had a story about a raid by officers on a local private club and gym. Read it here.

I thought it might be a routine bust until I read the story on the same incident in the Santa Fe New Mexican. Read it here.

If the New Mexican's account is accurate then this is an incredible case of overkill. Why on a simple liquor bust do you need men with semiautomatic weapons arresting patrons, cuffing them, putting them face down on the floor with firearms pointed at the backs of their heads?

This was a non violent case. If the club was selling liqour without a license then they broke the law and should face the consequences. That doesn't include what I described above.

If this has something to do with the fact that this was a 'gay' men's club then the government had better be sure that all of their 'bootlegging' cases have been handled the same way.

I have a feeling this story isn't over.