John Ortega, mayor of the Village of Questa in northern New Mexico, writes of police understaffing issues that the Las Cruces police chief said played a part in that shooting spree:
Joe, My first priority after being elected in 2022 was to bring back the Questa Police Department, that my predecessor let go of. It took a year to hire a Chief and four officers, but we were able to do it. Even at only five officers in Questa, it has been a struggle to maintain that staffing level. I would venture to say that there a very few if any Law Enforcement agencies in the state that are not struggling with staffing. We are all always in a bidding war to see who can pay a higher wage to keep our certified officers and attract others as well. Questa is a small municipality, but a Chief and five officers is still not enough with the crime that is going on. We do not have the budget in our small municipality to hire additional officers. I would love to have additional officers and the means to pay them to stay long term and I believe all Mayors in the state feel the same way, it's just been extremely difficult.
Michael Hays of Las Cruces writes:
Joe, LCPD Chief Story is whining. Many police departments are understaffed. At the same time, they have data which shows “hot spots." The problem of understaffing is addressed by the prioritization in the allocation of resources. I am sure that the LCPD and Story know that Young Park is one “hot spot.” He should have had one or two police cars present at or cruising around Young Park and able to call in additional cars if needed. The LCPD needs a leader who understands how to manage the personnel and technical resources available.
State Senator and Judiciary Committee Chairman Joseph Cervantes of Las Cruces writes:
Critics have misrepresented what I've said about crime. I've never said crime is an Albuquerque only issue. What I've actually said is Albuquerque crime requires Albuquerque solutions. And requires leadership there. I've met repeatedly with Las Cruces Chief Story and he now gets it after being used as a prop in the past. His candor should be praised and is a step in the right direction toward real progress. To his credit Chief Story attended the Governor's Town Hall, but then came to mine which followed. He now understands why the Legislature is not going to pass the unconstitutional laws touted by uninformed and short sighted critics. And he now understands the crime crisis is not the result of an absence of laws.
I don't know of a single legislator from Albuquerque who has condemned the DWI corruption ring, which now extends beyond APD to BCSO and State Police. Probably the worst police corruption scandal since days of Al Capone ad Chicago.
ABQ reader Ron Nelson writes:
Joe, I’d like to see your research that backs up this statement that you made Monday
“ The people of New Mexico do not have "blatant disregard" for the rule of law and order. Over 99 percent of them obey the law each and every day.”
Granted, there are many that don’t go out and commit serious crimes - but look at how many laws are broken by the drivers in this community, and get yourself a ring camera, and personally observe the petty larcenies that neighbors commit against each other
Larry Gioannini of Las Cruces writes:
Joe, you did a good job of identifying the proximate causes of the tragic shooting and deaths in Las Cruces. But unmentioned was the root cause: Americans' uncritical acceptance of the universal availablility of firearms of all types, including military-style weapons, to the entire population. The context justifying the Second Amendment disappeared at least a hundred years ago.
This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.