By Dan Klein
-- APD's low-rider car is a waste of money!
After yesterday’s column announcing that APD was down to 913 sworn officers, I received several messages from current APD officers saying the number is actually less. These sources pointed out that several of the recent people hired as “commanders” are not sworn law enforcement officers in the State of New Mexico. They also pointed out that some of the officers on the last payroll list have actually left APD.
Taking all this into account the current number of APD sworn officers stands at approximately 906. That means that since April of 2021, APD has lost 93 sworn officers. APOA President Shaun Willoughby says that since January 1, 2021, APD has lost 122 sworn officers (retirement, resignation, termination), and he expects this number to grow to over 150 officers leaving by the end of the year.
APD is hoping to graduate around 50 new officers before the end of the year.
The loss of veteran officers at APD is nothing less than alarming. Who will train the new officers as they graduate the academy? Having two-or-three-year veteran officers doing your training is a recipe for mistakes to be made, but that is the current status of APD.
Rest assured that Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Harold Medina are on this problem like stink on poop. To help stem the tide of offices leaving, and to hire more officers, they have the APD low-rider car. I am positive that the thousands of tax dollars wasted on this ridiculous vehicle has caused dozens of young people to join APD. I can hear the recruiters now promising them that if they try hard enough, the low-rider APD vehicle will be theirs to drive on patrol.
My only hope for the future is that Medina will actually show up for the next cadet graduation in a Class-A uniform. Am I hoping for too much?