New Mexico officials wary of federal security deployments – Daily Journal Online

The U.S. Department of Justice on Wednesday announced the expansion of an initiative against violent crime in Albuquerque and six other U.S. cities that includes an increase in federal agents and grant money for local law enforcement agencies.

The Democratic sheriff of New Mexico’s most populous county that includes Albuquerque traveled Wednesday to the White House for discussions of the expanded partnership with the Department of Justice — prompting a string of rebukes from fellow Democrats.

Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales — who has been at odds on issues of policing, gun control and police body cameras with the state’s Democratic governor and Albuquerque’s Democratic mayor — defended the visit in a news release Wednesday as an extension of his commitment to reduce local crime and gun violence.

U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich on Tuesday called on Gonzales to resign, amid uncertainty about the consequences of the sheriff’s White House visit.

“Instead of collaborating with the Albuquerque Police Department, the Sheriff is inviting the President’s stormtroopers into Albuquerque,” Heinrich said in a statement.

The Trump administration is facing a growing backlash — in the courts and on the streets — to sending federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security to Portland, Oregon, where protests have spiraled into violence, and vowing to do the same in other Democratic-led cities.

In parallel, the Department of Justice on Wednesday announced an increased deployment of federal agents from a variety of law enforcement entities, tied to $71 million in recent and pending grants to local law enforcement agencies. The plan would provide more federal agents in coordination with local law enforcement in Albuquerque, Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Kansas City, Memphis and Milwaukee.

Usually, the Justice Department sends agents under its own umbrella, like agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives or the Drug Enforcement Agency. But this surge effort will include Department of Homeland Security Investigations officers, who generally conduct drug trafficking and child exploitation investigations.

The state’s top elections regulator, Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver, issued her own warning Wednesday about any possible deployment of federal troops to Albuquerque in advance of November elections, saying it would have an intimidating effect on voters.

Amid a wave of national protests over policing practices, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller has announced a proposal to create a city agency to focus on community safety by deploying social workers and other civilian professionals with a focus on violence prevention, mental health and homelessness.

Albuquerque authorities have struggled for years to contain both violent crime and police brutality.

The Albuquerque Police Department began implementing policing reforms years ago under a prior administration as part of a consent decree with the U.S. Justice Department. Federal authorities in 2014 issued a scathing report in response to a series of deadly police shootings in the city that pointed to patterns of excessive force, constitutional violations and a lack of training and oversight of its officers.

Albuquerque-based U.S. Rep. Debra Haaland appeared at a congressional hearing Tuesday to condemn the deployment of unmarked federal officers in tactical gear to confront protesters in downtown Portland, Oregon, and express concern about what is to come in New Mexico.