Okay, just got back from a great session at Betty's Bath and Day Spa. I read the DOJ report and will whine after all that it looks like it is back to square one with the Albuquerque Police Department. They haven't been doing much of anything right. Lack of leadership at all levels. Violations of civil rights in killing suspects. Overuse of force generally.
Complete rebuild is necessary. Is the Mayor and City Council willing to stand up to the APD?
Now, it is front page news on the New York Times website.
Complete rebuild is necessary. Is the Mayor and City Council willing to stand up to the APD?
Now, it is front page news on the New York Times website.
5 comments:
The new chief and asst. chief are bad news and were part of the problem. If the mayor would dump them and start clean it would be the 1st smart thing he could do. Both chiefs are the old guard and not what ABQ needs now.
Rob Perry has to go. Every single decision that man has made has just caused us more trouble. He isn't a very good CAO and he wasn't a good city attorney. There are better, more educated and experienced people out there to chose from instead of a GOP insider.
I agree FIRE ROB PERRY!
Saw the DOJ press conference and read DOJ report. Also saw Berry's press conference and news coverage on 13 and 7.
The DOJ report was scathing as to its findings but closed on a whimper with recommendations that were all predicable on training, internal affairs and management failure. It was the sure staggering number of complaints (over 1,800) where IA found only 1% were not a proper use of force. The DOJ called it a "culture of aggression".
Berry said he did not want to play the "blame game" but did just that when he said it all started under Chavez and Channel 13 fell for it by reporting it tried to call Chavez for comment to no avail. Only two of the shooting out of 27 in the DOJ report happened under Chavez. Berry assumed NO responsibility for what has occurred under his watch for 4 years and 6 months and made no apologies for saying for the last 3 years nothing was wrong with APD. What was shocking was his admission that he was not aware of a lot that went on at APD and that a lot what was found by DOJ was news to him that he heard for the first time. Berry also said he did not manage the APD. I guess that must also go for all his other Departments.
This is one clueless and incompetent Mayor. Yet Berry got elected by a landslide with only 19% of eligible voters turning out to vote six months ago. Berry's opponents both said APD was in a melt down and need a major overhaul, but no cared, no one listened and too few voted. Why was the Boyd shooting a game changer for Berry? What about all the others, like the one that cost us $8 million. It is going to be three and half very, very long years. At least I can say I voted and it was NOT for Berry.
Consent decrees often last generations...think Duran Consent Decree on prison overcrowding. A consent decree will dog Berry for the rest of his term & beyond. He dodged the DOJ bullet by having it surface after the October election, but this scandal will stop Berry from ever gaining higher office.
Until individual APD officers are tried for their criminal actions, there cannot be closure. Gary King and Brandenberg won't prosecute. Let's hope DoJ will.
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