I am so angry writing this that it is hard to know where to begin. So, let’s start with the facts. The Albuquerque Police Department has killed 26 people since 2010 and wounded 40 more. To put this into perspective, this is twice the per capita rate as New York City and eight times the rate of Chicago. Walter White killed as many people as the Albuquerque police have! This news is disturbing and infuriating at the same time. The people in Albuquerque are not safe, but it isn’t because of regular street thugs–it is because of thugs with badges.
The latest incident is a perfect example of exactly where the minds of law enforcement are in today’s world. A homeless man, James Boyd, was illegally camping (misdemeanor) above the city of Albuquerque. He was approached by officers and told to leave. He was non-compliant and combative. He is also mentally ill, as is apparent when watching the videoed encounter. After hours of negotiating with him, he decided to comply and leave. Then police throw their favorite toy, a flash-bang at him, and release a police dog. He turns his back to police and is shot at that point in the back by the officer furthest away from him. As he lays the ground, he can be heard wheezing as he attempts to breath. The officers then shoot him twice with bean bags, and then release a police dog to bite his leg and then advance and handcuff him.
Boyd died the next day in a local hospital. This isn’t an outlier or a one-off. If it were, it would still be horrible. But, maybe we could give the officers a little room since the suspect did have two small camping knives. But this is a normal occurrence in this southwest town.
With this many officer-involved shootings, surely, someone has been punished, right? Wrong. The city has paid more than $30 million is civil suit judgments. Do you want to guess how many officers have been tried and convicted of excessive force in this city? Exactly zero in the last 30 years. Zero, zilch, nada. Not even one.
Kerry Brandenberg, the city attorney (EDIT: Kari Brandenberg is the district attorney, not the city attorney. I apologize for the error and confusion), has cleared every single officer involved in a shooting during her last 13 years in office. According to Brandenberg, when asked by CNN if the offending officers had been interviewed, “I have to rely on police reports. We are not an investigative agency.” What? If a city attorney is not an investigative agency, then what are they? They sure aren’t prosecuting criminals. I wonder if the city attorney also relies on statements of criminals to decide who to prosecute. I suppose evidence no longer matters.
There is no doubt in my mind why citizens no longer trust law enforcement. Why should we? When an officer is killed, the entire community mourns and the officer is given honors and accolades. But, when a mentally ill man is gunned down, all we get is cover-up. I do not want to sound callous, but an officer’s life is no more valuable than that of the homeless man. Officers in Albuquerque have shown that they are not to be trusted and they are to be feared. There will come a day when citizens will start shooting back, but I imagine that Ms. Brandenberg will have no problem prosecuting those citizens.
The stories of this department are enough to make anyone angry, except the city officials in Albuquerque. The feds are considering putting this department under federal oversight. Considering? What does it take to actually make it happen? How many citizens will these murderers kill before someone says “enough?”
These officers who were involved in the murder of James Boyd need to be put in prison. Not suspended, not just fired, not reprimanded—imprisoned. We live in sad times.
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