Albuquerque Police Department
Posted by Pete | Posted in News | Posted on 12-11-2010
2
We sleep well every night knowing we are protected by the APD. They do a good job in keeping us safe and free from break ins. Around my house I have a couple of firearms to give us additional protection if needed until the police arrive…..But that is some of my concern now because when police arrive at the scene of a crime, they don’t know you and they don’t know the criminal…So if I am armed when they arrive I am sure their weapons would be trained on me until the determination is made as to who is whom…..14 people have been shot by the APD in 2010, nine have died….The police have to make quick and immediate decisions as to what action to take….They want to go home to their families after the shift ends and not to the hospital or morgue….It’s tough making the right decision on the spur of the moment and I would err on the side of the good guy….You remember “Smoky and the Bandit”? One of the songs in the movie went something like, “I ain’t a gonna take no lip, with this six gun on my hip, let me tell you boy, this ain’t no toy”. I am sure hoping that our guys on the force never have that mentality when facing the perpetrator who just got into a fight with his wife or something along those lines. I don’t want anyone on our APD force injuried because he hesitated about the correct action to follow, however, I hope he will stay behind cover long enough to give the person time to drop his weapon and come to his senses….It is not easy I know…It is easy to sit here at this computer and make all kind of statements……I just hope our policemen know that when they pull that trigger, that’s it….negotiations are over…I hope they will stay under cover a couple of minutes longer and talk a little longer, it might make a difference…
I have had wonderful experiences with the Albuquerque Poice Department. In 1967, I was driving my roommates car north on University Boulevard, appoaching the intersection with Lomas Boulevard. All of a sudden the two-laned University widened into three lanes. Asleep at the wheel, I remained in the left lane, stopped at the intersection, and turned right onto Lomas. Lo and behold, one of Albuquerque’s finest, astride his finest motorcycle, was parked on Lomas watching. He enjoyed giving this poor GI the first ticket of his life for turning right from the left hand lane. It cost the fantastic amount of $25. I paid the ticket, returned the car to my roommate, and went back to riding my bicycle for another year. I did my part to support the APD. Shortly afterward, I was returning to Kirtland AFB after an all day bicycle ride accross the beautiful expanse of the enchanted state. Arriving back at the base after dark, a Kirtland Air Policeman stopped me and told me to get off and push that thing, as I had no lights. I said, Yes Sir! and dutifully got off and began to push. But I had rode that thing all day and was tired. As soon as the police unit disappeared around the block, I hopped back on the bicycle and rode it all the way back to my barracks, dropped in my bunk, and dreamed about all those policemen, jack rabbits, roadrunners, UFO’s, and stuff. It was pleasant dreams.
sometimes you just can’t win, huh?