Reading Richard Nebel’s attack on the idea of a functional sheriff’s office left me wondering two things (link). One, whether discourse in Los Alamos has been reduced to ad hominem attacks and two, whether Mr. Nebel has any sense of history.

 

Apparently the mere appearance of less than innocuous guns on a LEO in Santa Fe rattled Mr. Nebel, because it does not appear these weapons were brought into play. But more importantly, the reason that police forces tossed aside their 38 Specials in favor of heavier firepower (usually high capacity semiautomatics backed up with shotguns or AR type rifles) was that these standard issue revolvers were often ineffective against well armed adversaries; the North Hollywood Shootout is only one example.

 

When I was growing up in Western New York in the 1960’s and 70’s, standard issue sidearms for the rural based NY State Police were 357 magnums (backed up with) shotguns. I still recall one very rainy motorcycle trip from Rochester to Chemung County, NY. A few rural sheriffs and state police patrolled vast areas of rural NYS on solo patrols and on that trip, I saw many cops from multiple jurisdictions passing my waterlogged motorcycle at high speed.

 

Turns out a state trooper had responded, alone, to a rural dispute and was shotgunned to death on a farm south of Geneva, NY. He did manage to shoot his assailant but it was too late for him due to his grievous wounds and isolation. I ran into several officers later that night at a diner and asked what had happened and was told the final part of that story by some pretty shaken cops. The bottom line is that in an area where an individual officer can be many minutes from backup (and let’s not forget that New Mexico is pretty rural), that magnum, 45 ACP, or Mini-14 can be the difference between life and death for a cop. What counts is training.

 

As far as police and corruption, it’s about the people, not whether one is elected or appointed; sworn officers are only as good as the training they receive and the culture in which they swim. One of the most famous cases of widespread police corruption was in New York City, where the chief is appointed. That corruption was made famous by the Frank Serpico case and lead to the Knapp Commission being formed.

 

We should make the decision on the Sheriff on the basis of facts and data, not mud smearing innuendo. Both sides of this debate made compelling arguments and in the final analysis, the public voted to keep the Sheriff. Now, if we want to be honest with the election process, we need to define the duties of the office, not keep kicking the can down the road. Both sides need to swallow their pride and compromise on a set of duties. If setting up a commission with legal guidance can help do that, so much the better. But we need to get it done and stop bickering.