Where is Tim Keller?
BY DAN KLEIN
-- Why is there no outrage from Mayor Keller and Chief Medina over the hit-and-run killing of a 7-year-old boy at the River of Lights two nights ago?
-- Are we accepting it that Albuquerque is becoming a lawless city?
A 7-year-old boy is dead, killed by a hit-and-run driver while he legally crossed Central Avenue with his parents after visiting the River of Lights display near Old Town.
The River of Lights is probably the second largest attraction (after the Balloon Fiesta) that Albuquerque puts on every year. It is nationally recognized as one of the 10 best winter displays in the nation.
Which makes me ask the following questions:
Why have Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina not appeared publicly to speak about this tragedy? It’s now been two days since the boy was run down and neither Keller nor Medina have appeared publicly to speak about this horrible incident and ask why the cops haven’t found the little boy’s killer.
Where are the members of the city council? This horrific killing happened at the borders of Council District 1 (Lan Sena), District 2 (Ike Benton) and District 3 (Klarissa Pena). So where are they? Why haven’t they made any public appearance regarding the death of this child? Why aren’t they demanding that APD find the resources to assign officers to control traffic outside of the River of Lights?
Where is Raul Torrez? As Bernalillo County District Attorney he is the chief law enforcement officer for our city. Why hasn’t he appeared publicly to speak about this incident?
If our public officials can’t get outraged about a 7-year-old child being killed, what does that say about our city? Have incidents such as these become the norm? Do we now just accept them and numbly shrug our shoulders at all the crime, violence and death?
In the past, the River of Lights always had APD officers patrolling outside the venue. Who made the decision not to have them patrolling now?
Did APD make this decision because they don’t have any officers to assign? Some truth from APD regarding their staffing levels would be refreshing.
Why did APD command decide that police officers were not needed outside of the River of Lights for traffic control, when in the past they were always there?
On Monday night, 24 hours after the child was struck and killed, there were still no APD officers assigned to patrol outside the River of Lights! Why? There were only two security guards standing at Tingley and Central. Just what are the security guards supposed to do? They have no legal authority to act. Where are the APD officers?
What does Chief Medina plan to do in the future? Is all we can expect is two civilian security guards standing at Tingley and Central? Is that really providing protection for the visitors at River of Lights?
News reports have stated that citizens have been complaining about off-road vehicles and other drivers creating traffic chaos all over town, but especially on Central Ave. So why hasn’t APD been cracking down on these people?
If Mayor Keller and the others ever decide to come out of hiding they need to be asked if Albuquerque a completely lawless city. Why do these criminals not fear getting caught and prosecuted? And without pointing fingers (Harold and Raul), just what the hell are you going to do about this?
If you are outraged by the death of this child and the lack of any response from our elected and appointed officials, please let them know how you fee. Let them know that you demand a safer community. That is their job. Since Mayor Keller took his family to the border to cry for those children, shouldn’t he be doing the same for the child victims of Albuquerque who have died during his time as mayor?
