Letter to the editor: Sheriff improves community
Story by Submitted | Mar 14, 2021 | Letters, Opinion |
Editor:
I took office as Sandoval County sheriff two years ago, and since that time, I have worked tirelessly to improve the agency.
The sheriff’s office has moved forward and has made many first-ever improvements in this time frame. These improvements have had a major impact on the sheriff’s office and have helped to strengthen public safety in Sandoval County.
Such improvements include:
A yearly budget increase in areas such as overtime, uniforms, ammunition and training line items.
The purchase of body armor for all members of the sheriff’s office to replace expired armor.
The Albuquerque Journal recently ran an Op Ed outlining its concerns over proposed House Bill 4. As the Journal points out,the bill may initially sound like a good thing. However, there’s a great deal of concern in the details of the bill, which has been labelled a proposed civil rights law, but really may just be at a great cost to the taxpayer.
The bill would abolish what’s called qualified immunity in the state cases as a defense for police officers, teachers and other government workers completing their day-to-day duties. Plaintiffs would no longer have to show that government employees violated constitutional rights when filing lawsuits. These claims are usually settled in federal court, the Journal notes, where they are probably best handled.