Keller, Geier Stonewalling on Internal Affairs Probe

“Dipshits, get it straight, what we do here at the Albuquerque Police Department is none of your goddamn business. It's our information, not yours, you pathetic, tiny little wormy taxpayers.”

I realize that the above isn't the official motto of Mayor Tim Keller and Albuquerque Police Chief Mike Geier, but it really should be. And they should add this line to it: “All our talk about a new day of transparency at APD is just that; cheap talk to fool all you losers into thinking things have changed. But guess what, they haven't and they won't. The Old APD lives!”

That's the only motto I can come up with for these people considering the stonewalling that APD and the city are doing on the case of police Commander Jennifer Garcia, the former head of APD's Internal Affairs unit, who is and has been under investigation since at least March.

APD has confirmed that Garcia, who is married to Deputy Chief Eric Garcia, was the subject of an investigation while she was head of IA, and that a private firm was hired to conduct the investigation, but it won't say anything else about the matter. It won't tell the public, and all us taxpayers who fund APD, what the allegations are against Jennifer Garcia, or whether the allegations were sustained, or what discipline Geier is, or already has, imposed against her.

Think of it: The head of APD's Internal Affairs Unit, one of the most important people in the department, is accused of wrongdoing, and APD won't tell us citizens what the allegations are.

Remember this: The head of IA is basically a police department's soul. If that person does the job fairly and without corruption and favoritism, the soul will be pure, and a part of the great experiment in human liberty will walk confidently forward on strong and tireless legs. But if that person is corrupt, then the soul is tarnished and liberty's legs are broken, and even when healed, their gait slower and less confident.

On July 16 I filed an Inspection of Public Records Act request with the city and APD for the records in the case, including the allegations against Jennifer Garcia and what discipline had been recommended or imposed.

Three days later, the stonewallers replied that they had denied my public records request by saying:

“We cannot permit inspection of these records because they are exempt from disclosure under IPRA, pursuant to NMSA 1978, § 14-2-1(A)(3) (matters of opinion); and NMSA 1978, § 14-2-1(A)(8) (otherwise provided by law), including, but not limited to Rule 11-503 NMRA (Lawyer-Client Privilege), and Rule 1-26 (Attorney Work Product).

“My office will close out your request. Please let me know if you have any questions.

“Sincerely,

“Crystal Velarde”

Here's what I think they really meant in denying my request: “We're as sleazy, secretive and as protective of our own as were former Chief Gorden Eden and former Mayor R.J. Berry. It's our department, not yours. We're a secret club and our goings on are none of your business, and you can go to hell. Hail the Old APD! May it live forever! It will live forever!"

So now, because the city won't tell us exactly what the allegations against Jennifer Garcia are, we're all left to speculate and feed the rumor mill.

So let's speculate away.

There must something really big here, and if it were to come out, Keller, Geier and other city officials would have to immediately resign and sneak their families out of town to the most remote and desolate place on the planet in order to escape the unslakable rage of a betrayed and exploited populace. It goes directly to the top! And get this, Geier is the one who promoted Jennifer Garcia earlier this year from lieutenant to commander. Is he protecting her? And if so, why?

Are city councilors – maybe at least one – involved? Were laws broken? Would someone be facing prison time, maybe for felonies? Was political pressure applied in order to save a councilor's relative from embarrassment and discipline? Were documents changed or falsified, and cases fixed in order to protect insiders and political favorites?

Who knows, but as long as APD and the city stonewall the public on this case, all we can do is speculate. So here's my final speculation:

Keller and Geier must be meeting daily with Berry and Eden to get lessons on how to screw the public and act like asses.