An Albuquerque police union said over a dozen officers who left the police department’s specialized protest team are “tired of being managed by politics.”
As the department saw 19 members of the specialized team resign, the Albuquerque Police Department has also reportedly had 20 officers quit over the past two months, according to Police Officer Union President Shaun Willoughby.
During a Monday interview with Fox News, Willoughby claimed the officers are not supported by the department, adding “there is a lack of trust with our administration.”
‘THERE IS NO MORALE’: NINETEEN OFFICERS RESIGN FROM EMERGENCY RESPONSE TEAM AFTER PROTEST
The union president said the resignations came after an officer was put on leave during a counterprotest in Civic Plaza during the second weekend of April for a Proud Boys rally that never occurred. The officer detained Deyontae Williams, who police say was armed with a rifle, but the decision to charge the armed man was reversed, and the officer was put on leave while an investigation was conducted.
The police department originally reported Williams was taunting police during the protest while carrying the rifle.
“Morale is gone” among department members, Willoughby said.
At the time of the protest, the Albuquerque Police Department reportedly had a breakdown in the chain of command about whether charges would be levied against Williams, according to KOB4.
The Albuquerque Police Department had “reversed years of failure to invest in public safety” under Democratic Mayor Tim Keller, who appointed Harold Medina as the department’s chief of police in December 2017, spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told the Washington Examiner on Monday.
“Shaun Willoughby is known for making bombastic statements and complaining about morale, especially during contract negotiations,” Gallegos said, adding that it is “worth noting” Willoughby publicly endorsed the selection of Medina at the time.
Seventeen officers, one lieutenant, and two sergeants resigned from the specialized protest team stemming from the demonstration following the protest.
“We have an individual that’s being removed from this counterprotest for doing absolutely nothing wrong,” Willoughby said about the officer placed on leave. “He didn’t violate any laws. He was exercising his constitutional rights within the city of Albuquerque, and we had a sergeant taken off of his job, gun and badge removed.”
The incident with the Emergency Response Team during the protest was due to “an issue of insubordination,” Gallegos said, adding, “A sergeant did not follow an order from a lieutenant during a critical incident.”
The union leader noted the specialized protest team is “an extracurricular activity” and said he doubts the department will find replacements for the vacated positions.
“Who wants to take on that professional liability … [of] being involved in these protests that just are never-ending?” Willoughby asked.
Willoughby said the department would have to use field services as dispatch for civil unrest, adding that he did not blame anyone leaving the team. The department reportedly said resignations will not affect future crowd control operations.
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“Even with these folks leaving the team, we still have more members of our Emergency Response Teams than we did a year ago. We are confident we will effectively manage any response to future protests and mass gatherings,” Gallegos said. The department “has grown from 830 officers in 2017 to around 1,000 officers today.”
