By Concerned CitizenLos Alamos
Another letter regarding the highly debated Sheriff in LA County. Many letters have quoted state statute. Many have quoted the Charter. Many have referred to the Supreme Court decision that validates the Charter. Let’s get down to the meat of the subject.
By election, the citizens of this County voted to retain the Office of the Sheriff, but it was a narrow margin (+/- 500). This town is as divided on the subject as the rest of the country is on other political fronts.
However nowhere in that election did it indicate that the duties of the Sheriff should be expanded, or reduced. It gave no scope. My general feeling (just a feeling) is that most people want the Sheriff’s duties returned to as they were, within the charter and for this “noise” that floods the news sources weekly to just go away.
To assume the community wants a much more robust department is nothing but assumption.
In some of Councilor Sheehey’s comments, he has proposed that the Sheriff’s department take over transportation of prisoners as part of their duties. However, LAPD already has Corrections Officers hired and staff in place to perform those functions. This would indicate to me that there would be jobs lost in order to accommodate the Sheriff’s office. That does not sound like a positive move for Los Alamos.
Lucero has continually pushed, and pushed, and pushed for his office to be expanded and given its due recognition by his standards. If the Office is so broken, why did he choose to run for re-election? Why would you re-apply for a job that you were unhappy with?
We forget that part of this started with him wanting a County vehicle. He wanted one for official use. Santa Fe even donated one. Something so simple, and somewhat trivial. What seems forgotten is that Lucero had access to county pool vehicles at any time he needed. No they didn’t have fancy logos, or lights and sirens. But, is all that really necessary? For a Civil elected position, are lights, sirens, and logos a must have? Did he get bullied by other Sheriff’s at conventions because he had a plain white car?
Lucero previously has been able to appoint his own deputies. He states that they are all certified law enforcement officers. However, to apply for a position as a deputy in any other county or in any other police department, you don’t just show up for an interview and your buddy gives you the thumbs up.
Certified or not, there is a process to hire them. This includes multiple interviews (with panels), psychological screening, physical fitness test, background check, and a written exam. Not a single entity can hire a person at the County; it requires multiple people’s approvals.
Actually, all positions as a County worker require some combination of the components mentioned above. Why should Lucero’s deputies go through a less
vigorous screening process than a part-time lifeguard does? When Lucero talks about nepotism and corruption, is this not a potential point of that within his own office?
Lucero also claims that it is part of a check and balances to be able to investigate corruption (if reported to him) of the Council and the Police Department. I have yet to find a relative case of that happening in NM. State Police or Federal Investigators are the ones that are called in for such accusations. Why?
Normally, Police and Sheriff’s departments work well together. They are rarely impartial to each other. Los Alamos being such a small community, I think that would actually be even more of a concern. We are a tight knit community. Therefore, to make sure it is an impartial investigation outside agencies are brought in. I have never seen a case where Rio Arriba has investigated Espanola City, or Santa Fe County has investigated Santa Fe City, or for that matter Bernalillo or Sandoval have investigated Albuquerque or Rio Rancho. State Police, FBI, Department of Justice are the ones that really take the ones that spearhead these type of incidents.
This is besides the fact that jurisdictional boundaries are clear for these entities mentioned above. The City gets the city, the Sheriff gets the unincorporated real estate of the county. Los Alamos does not have any truly unincorporated Real Estate. We are the Incorporated County of Los Alamos.
Unless we want to let Lucero be responsible for the short piece of road from West Jemez to the county line on NM 4. That would literally be his only patrol area and jurisdiction if compared to other counties, two and half miles. However since it is a State Highway instead of County Road, that might cause further jurisdictional issues and require cross commissioning.
Lucero has continually pushed the boundaries of his office since he began his first term. He has attempted to hold the County hostage with repeated threats of litigation. Which really makes me question the Sheriff’s motives. Some of the opponents have even thrown around the word of impeachment, although he has not quite crossed that line yet in my opinion. I wonder if somebody with more legal background has looked into it. At what point does elected officials cross the line of not staying within their own elected lane? With an undefined office, that makes it even harder to evaluate.
The last Council attempted to “snip his wings” to prove a point. Even though I disagree with those actions, I can fully understand their frustration with somebody who just refuses to understand the role they were elected for.
But now, we have a council who not only wishes to return the Sheriff to his rightful role, but is actually considering bending to the demands of somebody who has continually (throughout two terms) fought the system in place. This is not what I expect out of my elected officials, caving to demands. I elected my officials to stand up for me and for my town.
To stand up for the Charter. I feel that any expanded duties the council would agree on should require an additional election. There is already confusion and crossed lines about the legal authority of the Office, modifying the charter without a clear and decisive election would only add to that confusion. I also feel it would be a slap in the face of the citizens of this town to just give the keys to the city away.
Now has Lucero been one of the most involved Sheriff’s in recent history? Absolutely. He shakes hands and kisses babies with the best of them. His is personable, charismatic, and visible in comparison to his predecessors that were more subdued. He is the first Sheriff in my memory that insists on wearing a uniform, not just a badge. It has brought a level of professionalism to his elected CIVIL position. At what cost? Time spent on the subject alone has been of expense to us the tax payers. Will it be in the court system next? Or buying his fleet of unnecessary vehicles? I guess the town will soon find out.
