Albuquerque Journal
There's no question that law enforcement officers have a difficult job in the best of times, and that when a man or woman in uniform pulls and uses his/her service weapon, it is not the best of times.
For anyone involved.
When Albuquerque Police Department officers are involved in a shooting, the city places them on at least three days of paid leave and offers free counseling to help them deal with the incident.
So there is no question how a bonus $300-$500 check from the police union to almost every officer who shoots someone looks.
Like a prize.
Albuquerque Police Officers Association President Joey Sigala and Vice President Felipe Garcia have said the payouts are a way to cover officers' expenses and for them and their families "to find a place to have some privacy and time to decompress outside the Albuquerque area."
The union brass appears incensed by the priceon-civilians'-heads characterization used by family members of those who have been shot by police, saying "we hold onto the honor and dignity of our profession and would never engage in such callous and hurtful behavior."
And yet those men shot by officers, and their families – not the officers – typically are the ones disconnecting their telephones and answering their doors to Klieg lights and microphones. And while the welfare of the people shot by police and their families isn't the union's responsibility, the fact that APD officers shot 20 men in 2010 and 2011 and three this year should be of concern to it. It is of concern to the U.S. Justice Department, which is considering a fullscale investigation into whether APD has a pattern or practice of violating civil rights.
Other areas the union should be concerned about: APD's recent history of bad behavior at traffic stops and on social media and the ongoing audit, spurred by APOA's own members questioning their officials' spending.
Those spending questions are what turned up union payouts of more than $10,000 to 20 officers involved in 2010 and 2011 shootings.
Police Chief Ray Schultz has said "what we have learned about (the payout) practice thus far is troubling. We support our officers when they are placed in these critical incidents. However, we recognize the union is further putting these officers in an untenable situation that we don't agree with."
Mayor Richard Berry has said he is "disappointed" in the union's decision to continue offering the checks and is "convinced there are other ways other than cash payments to support our officers and their families during times of great stress and crisis in their lives."
Instead of defending what can best be described as a woefully misguided and tactless practice, Sigala and Garcia should work with the administration and the APOA membership to find a more sensitive way to actually support the city's sworn officers who have made that difficult split-second decision to pull and use a weapon in the line of duty.
Instead of setting them up to look like bounty hunters.
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal
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