Forty-one homicides

By Dan Klein

WOW! Another weekend in Albuquerque and we can add three more homicides to our already staggering homicide count.

Albuquerque is now at 41 homicides for the year! APD has homicide detectives investigating a death at the Amberly Suites, another death at the Desert Sands Motel and a third dead body found at Wyoming and Constitution. All within the last 36 hours.

A big thank you to the EMS people. APD, AFR, Albuquerque Ambulance, Pres, Lovelace and UNMH, if they weren’t so damn good at saving lives we would probably have double the number of homicides. Our EMS people deserve our praise.

This number includes four homicides that APD says is justified. Aside from the police involved homicide the Bernalillo County District Attorney doesn’t, or won’t, ask to review the other three justified homicides. This needs to change. All homicides should have an outside party (the district attorney) review to make sure they really are justified. Maybe one of our legislators or the New Mexico Attorney General can address this gap in oversight.

The 41 homicides also includes the two children who died at the hands of their drunk mothers.

Our mayor and chief will continue to say Albuquerque is like all other cities, except we aren’t. Baltimore is experiencing a drop in crime, but Keller and Medina don’t want to be compared to Baltimore. The truly sad fact from Albuquerque’s homicide tsunami of the last three years is that if your loved one was murdered in 2018, 2019, 2020 and before, the odds are dwindling that those cases will ever see justice.

Another sad note, APD reported having 998 officers during the first week of March, 2021, but now a check of APD payroll reflects only 984 sworn officers. Losing 15 officers in one month is not a good trend, but in cities like Albuquerque, Portland and Seattle it is a way of life. A source within APD advised that dozens of officers have inquired about retiring and quitting. Who can blame them in today’s toxic atmosphere and another hot summer on the way.

My advice for anyone thinking about joining law enforcement is don’t do it. My advice for those in law enforcement wanting a change, apply with the Department of Justice. The DOJ doesn’t wear camera, they refuse to speak to the media and they protect themselves. All of the things they blame on local cops, the DOJ is guilty of.

And we thought 2020 was a crazy year.