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Wednesday, November 20, 2019

ABQ Homicide Total Headed For Record Books; Slaying Of Mother Of State Cops Sends City Reeling; We're On the Crime Beat, Reporting Where We Are And Where We're Headed  

The crime cancer continues to metastasize across the ABQ metro, and the latest shocking murder is sure to increase the pressure on the Governor, Mayor, Legislature and City Council for more effective strategies in fighting the scourge.

That latest murder, in a comfortable, upscale west side neighborhood, claimed the life of a mother of two state police officers, driving home the growing danger of the gun violence and putting the city on the path for a record breaking year for homicides (now over 70).

Governor Lujan Grisham earlier this year temporarily assigned state police to ABQ to combat the crime epidemic. She may feel the heat to do so again. Mayor Keller begins his third year in office in December and the 2021 election calendar is drawing ever closer. The more the sickening crimes continue, the more likely he draws more effective challengers.

The question in front of us right now is what can be done?

Retired APD sergeant, private investigator and sometime reporter Dan Klein and I discussed the matter at length as the city reeled not only from the murder of that mother, but also the release from jail of Fabian Gonzales. He's charged in connection with the most horrific murder in memory--the 2016 killing and dismemberment of 10 year old Victoria Martens.

Klein says he expects to see Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales again step up his unprecedented crime fighting efforts within the city limits, despite the tension it causes with the Mayor and APD. (Gonzales has not ruled out running for Mayor himself in 2021). 

Keller said of the latest murder:

We lost a member of our community—a mother to two state police officers—to gun violence. This is a senseless, tragic, and heartbreaking loss, for her family and for Albuquerque. We are working tirelessly to bring the killers to justice, and we are committed to continue the fight against criminals who perpetrate violence in our city.

Klein says:

The Sheriff is the only one really reacting to this crime wave. The citizens have supported him and he has shown results. The Governor may call in the state police but she can't keep them here permanently. Gonzales can keep at it. At this point he might want to go before the City Council and ask them for some resources to help him. 

Klein says APD has been slowed by the federal consent decree the agency has operated under for five years, costing taxpayers millions in enforcement costs but also cutting down on costly lawsuits for APD's use of excessive force.

The Mayor needs to forcefully ask the Feds to get us out from under that decree. APD has enacted most of the reforms. Unless we reduce the number of officers enforcing the decree in one way or another--and keeping them from being on the streets--the worse the crime gets. 

Klein says the recent ABQ visit of Attorney General William Barr would have been a good time for Keller to ask for federal relief, but political differences apparently prevented any type of communication between the pair. Barr pledged more federal involvement over crime here, while criticizing the judiciary for being too soft on the criminal element.

The Barr visit drew speculation that President Trump may try a tough on crime formula to make political gains in ABQ and the state in next year's election.

THE DA DANCE

Raul Torrez
Meanwhile, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez went before the ABQ Chamber of Commerce Tuesday and repeated that certain ABQ crime categories have fallen from their peak while homicides continue to reach record levels. But he admitted those other categories--auto theft and the like--are still among the highest in the nation.

Democrat Torrez is seeking re-election next year and can be expected to try to paint a positive picture. It's not easy. Torrez addressed the chamber only hours after the mother of the two state policemen was shot to death outside her home. So far, there are no announced Dem or R opponents running against Torrez.

Torrez's failure to take Fabian Gonzales to trial after he has languished in jail for over three years hangs over the DA's head as does his handling of the entire Martens case. Gonzales getting released by court order Tuesday to await the DA's next step was another jolt to crime weary Mr. and Mrs. Albuquerque.

Torrez received $4 million in increased funding during the 2018 legislative session, after tremendous pressure was placed on the lawmakers. For some of those lawmakers, Torrez has not been specific enough on how that money has made a difference--if any--in fighting crime. Those legislators are getting antsy and the matter could come to a head in the legislative session that begins in January.

In addition, the Mayor and City Council in 2018 enacted an increase in the gross receipts tax that raises some $60 million a year, the majority of which is devoted to public safety. Soon, if the violence and mayhem fail to fade, it will be time to question if those funds are being efficiently utilized.

In 2014 voters approved a BernCo tax hike that takes in $18 million a year for behavioral health. And city voters this month approved a $14 million bond for a new homeless shelter that will also help tackle the addiction explosion.

Critics worried when BernCo won that tax increase from voters in 2014 without having a detailed plan. Those worries have panned out as much of the money has piled up as the addiction crisis deepens and the county slowly implements programs.

THE POLITICAL WILL 

The crime wave took hold with fervor in 2016 and has kept a tight grip ever since. It has contributed mightily to the lack of business development, the stagnant population growth, the untold numbers of people who have moved away and, most important, to serious trauma in the lives of tens of thousands of residents.

Chatter is now starting that the New Mexico Governor needs to get serious about drug interdiction on the state's interstates and elsewhere to reduce the Cartel supplies of meth, heroin and fentanyl and forcing the drugs onto a different path.

We could see bipartisan efforts in January to revisit the bail reform constitutional amendment that some blame for putting too many criminals back on the streets.

As radio talk show host Eddy Aragon told his listening audience Tuesday as they absorbed the latest shocks from the crime beat:

There are many, many answers out there. We just don't seem to have the political will to go after them.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019

 
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