APS abandons plans for its own Police Department - why?

APS has published its 2014 legislative agenda, link.  It does not include legislation that would enable APS to have its own stand-alone police department; a longstanding item on their legislative wish list.  Unless they are trying to pull a fast one, they have abandoned the effort to get legislative approval to run a stand-alone police department.

Why do they no longer"need" a stand-alone department?

There is an MOU in force between Sheriff Dan Houston and the leadership of the APS.  Supposedly.

I went looking for the MOU on the BCSD website, link, and couldn't find it.  The MOU, link, used to be there; that's where I got it.

Could these people have met in secret and agreed to forget about the MOU?

Recently, the leadership of the APS self investigated allegations of administrative misconduct.  The investigation was conducted by a police force that reports directly to and only to APS Supt Winston Brooks and the School Board. Their investigation of allegations of felony administrative misconduct cleared the administration of any wrong doing more serious than "using (its) Daddy voice", link.

Self investigation is a manifest conflict of interests.

It wasn't even necessary - the Sheriff's Department or the Albuquerque Police Department could have just as easily have conducted the investigation; and should have conducted the investigation.

The self investigation blatantly disregards provisions in the MOU denying the leadership of the APS the opportunity to self investigate and cover up any more felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators.

Somebody has to watch over the APS Police Force beside the people who are using it as a Praetorian Guard in every sense of the concept.

APS currently runs a police force not a police department, despite their claim to the contrary, link.

Police Departments are allowed to self investigate their own corruption and incompetence - though God only, knows why.

Police Forces are not allowed to self investigate allegations of their own felony breach of the law.  Thank you God.

So why is it no longer of any importance to APS?

A better question of course is; why is this of no importance to the Journal and the NM Broadcasters Association?

Why does the Journal not care that the leadership of the APS is hiding public records and findings of APS' self investigation of the allegations of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators follow their exposure in February 2007, link?

No heads rolled.  Statutes of limitation on felony criminal misconduct expired long since and the leadership of the APS has yet to surrender to the District Attorney, the evidence they collected during their last self investigation of allegations of felony criminal misconduct involving senior APS administrators.

Right now they are spending operational funds, money that could be spent in classrooms, on litigation in an effort to continue to hide those public records from public knowledge.

The leadership of the APS and their compadres at the Journal, KRQE, KOAT, and KOB have had an obligation since February 2007 to investigate and report upon the cover up of the corruption in the leadership of their police force.

They know what is going on, they have known all along.

Their decision to continue to refuse to investigate and report upon the ethics and accountability scandal in the leadership of the APS is absolutely deliberate.

Their decision flows from cowardice or corruption; they're afraid to expose the scandal or, they're complicit in the cover up.

If there is a third reason, in particular a good and ethical reason, that prevents them from investigating and reporting upon standards and accountability in the leadership of the APS,
I cannot imagine it and
they are yet to offer it.




photos Mark Bralley