Councilors, residents and parents of man fatally shot by police call out APD - By Elizabeth McCall, City Desk ABQ
Emotions were high at the Albuquerque City Council chambers Monday night when the parents of the man Albuquerque police officers fatally shot last week pleaded for justice and change.
Fred and Bernadette Garcia, parents of Matthew “Solo” Garcia, told the council that police “didn’t have to kill him.”
“He was a great father, a great son, a great husband, my best friend as well…he was my second child that I lost in a lifetime,” Fred Garcia said. “And that really kills me inside, but Solo being the one that should have justice right now. Please do something for my son, I ask you this.”
Police said in a news release last week that officers were conducting a code enforcement operation at the Tewa Lodge motel on Central Avenue NE on Oct. 18 when they shot and killed Garcia who was handcuffed in the backseat of a police car.
Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Chief Harold Medina released some of the lapel footage of the shooting and said at a press conference Sunday that officers needed to be interviewed before more footage was released. The video shows officers trying to take away a gun that Garcia admitted having behind his back before shots are fired.
Medina attended Monday’s meeting and answered questions from some councilors, but left before Garcia’s parents told the council that APD did not contact them about the incident and asked why the officers failed to search their son before placing him in handcuffs.
“Him being in the back of that vehicle and not being searched before he was put in that vehicle was uncalled for,” Fred Garcia said.
Councilor Nichole Rogers, whose district includes the Tewa Lodge, was the first to question Medina about the shooting and asked why certain protocols were missed.
“Yes, we are mandated to search individuals, there is an investigation into the search of this individual prior to being put into the car,” Medina said. “I don’t want to get into the details because this still is an active administrative investigation…The last thing we want to do is compromise these investigations with releasing too much information.”
Councilor Louie Sanchez, a frequent critic of Medina and APD, questioned whether Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel checks the “quality of officers that we are hiring” and the training at APD since “ultimately you are the chief’s boss.”
Sengel said she trusts the department’s leadership to be “responsible for that work.”
Sanchez, who is also a former police officer, continued to press Sengel.
“I have never seen a police officer have to shoot someone in the back seat in a vehicle that has been handcuffed before,” Sanchez said. “It’s something that I’ve never seen in the 29 years that I’ve been involved in city government. I would hope that you, being the CAO of the City of Albuquerque, would take some steps to make sure that a lot of these things that I just talked about are dealt with.”
Caitlin Bourg, one of the many outraged residents who attended Monday’s meeting, asked what consequences there are for officers who “repeatedly shot a handcuffed man.”
“Solo’s death is not an isolated tragedy,” Bourg said. “It fits into a larger, well-documented pattern of violence, negligence and corruption by APD.”
A pilot killed in a plane crash at a New Mexico air show was an instructor for 'Top Gun' actors - Associated Press
A man who died in a crash of a small plane during a New Mexico air show was an accomplished pilot who had performed stunts at hundreds of air shows, authorities said Monday.
Charles Thomas "Chuck" Coleman was the only person on board the two-seat Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 monoplane when it went down around 2:30 p.m. Sunday during the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo at Las Cruces International Airport, city officials said.
Authorities said Coleman was performing aerobatics when the plane crashed about a half-mile west of the airport. The air show was called off after the crash.
Coleman's website said he was based out of California and was an engineer, aerobatic and test pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flight time.
He performed at hundreds of airshows and had provided more than 3,000 rides in aerobatic aircraft, according to his website.
It also said Coleman was an aerobatic flight instructor for actors in the 2022 film " Top Gun: Maverick," flying more than 100 flights to prepare the actors for flight in U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets.
"We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and fans of Chuck Coleman," Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said in a statement Monday.
New Mexico State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The airport was temporarily closed during the initial investigation, with only scheduled and emergency response flights permitted.
State extinguishes Gallup-area mine fires burning since at least 2011 - Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Two fires burning in abandoned coal mines since at least 2011 – and possibly much longer – were finally extinguished near Gallup recently, thanks to a dedicated effort by a state team and federal funding, officials announced Monday.
The two underground coal fires were emitting toxic gas near the site of planned infrastructure projects, including a major water pipeline. The mines were first established in the late 1800s and operated until the early 1900s, according to a news release from the state Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.
In 1891, a fire broke out near one of the mines, called “Navajo No. 1,” and the mine was sealed in 1905 as a result, according to the news release. But it’s unclear from state records whether sealing the mine actually extinguished the fire, spokesperson Sidney Hill said.
More than 100 years later, staff from the state’s Abandoned Mine Land Program encountered fires at that mine and at a separate mine, known as “Enterprise-Brown.” That was in 2011.
After the fires were discovered, team members monitored the mines for several years before devising a plan to extinguish them, thanks, in part, to funding from the federal Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
The law sets aside about $12 billion for abandoned mine remediation across the country, including roughly $36 million to New Mexico over the next 15 years. Extinguishing these fires cost about $385,000, according to the news release.
The “Enterprise-Brown” fire was burning toward the Navajo Gallup Water Supply Line, a huge project carrying water through 300 miles of pipeline from the San Juan River to the eastern edge of the Navajo Nation, part of the Jicarilla Apache Nation and the city of Gallup.
The “Navajo No. 1” fire was burning near a new recreation area planned for campers and hikers, according to the news release.
Temperatures from both fires reached 500 degrees Fahrenheit in some places, Hill said. The team used specialized drilling equipment and seismic surveys to determine the fires’ spread.
Then they used heavy equipment to dig out coal seams where the fire was burning, which was then filled. After both seams were filled with a “benign material” and temperatures fell to 90 degrees, the sites of both mines were covered with native seeds and wood mulch, Hill said.
The mine fires posed risks not only to the infrastructure project but also could have sparked a wildfire, EMNRD Secretary Melanie Kenderdine said in the news release.
Hill did not respond to a request for comment Monday afternoon from Source New Mexico about whether there were any additional mine fires burning in New Mexico, and where they are.
Councilors uphold mayor’s veto on resolution that would limit his influence on charter changes - By Elizabeth McCall, City Desk ABQ
On Monday several Albuquerque city councilors changed their vote on a resolution the panel approved two weeks ago — which would have given the council more power to influence charter changes — after Mayor Tim Keller vetoed the bill.
The Charter Review Task Force convenes nearly every 10 years to evaluate the city’s charter and identify any needed changes.
Under the current city code, Keller is allowed to choose the task force’s seven members with input from the council. Councilor Dan Champine, however, proposed that the mayor pick one member of an 11-person task force. During the council’s Oct. 7 meeting, councilors approved Champine’s proposal on a 7-2 vote.
Keller vetoed the resolution on Oct. 18 with a message that noted in previous years, the mayor picked more than one task force member. Keller said he is open to revisiting the resolution with councilors and finding a more equal solution.
Keller wrote that he vetoed the proposal “because it doesn’t maintain an appropriate balance between the geographic representation or legislative and executive branch obligations outlined under the current City Charter.”
Champine moved to override Keller’s veto Monday but that motion failed to get the six votes it needed to pass.
YES: Brook Bassan, Dan Champine, Renée Grout, Dan Lewis, Louie Sanchez
NO: Joaquín Baca, Tammy Fiebelkorn, Klarissa Peña, Nichole Rogers]
“I felt it was a well-rounded approach,” Champine said.
Champine’s proposal would have increased the number of members on the task force and allowed each councilor to pick one. The mayor would appoint one member, then the council as a whole would choose an 11th to serve as the chair.
“I really want to remind people that we did vote on this 7-2,” Champine said. “It does show a good representation of each district of the city and the city as a whole. It isn’t us versus them, it’s one government moving forward.”
Council President Dan Lewis said if the council is open to making some changes and introducing another resolution, he is “certainly willing to do that.” Councilor Nichole Rogers, who tried to pass a similar bill in June, agreed with Lewis.
Read more about the resolution here.
Sexual assault helpline launches during Domestic Violence Awareness Month - By Sunsan Dunlap, New Mexico Political Report
A new, dedicated statewide sexual assault helpline officially went live on Monday.
The New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs launched the helpline to provide a place for individuals who have experienced sexual assault to talk. According to the coalition, 76.1 percent of individuals living in New Mexico affected by sexual assault are not receiving help.
Rachel Cox, deputy director of NMCSAP, said the first thing a caller will hear from the person on the other line is that they are there to listen.
Cox said that the loss of power and control over a survivor’s own body is the critical part of the trauma and that the path to healing is about providing choice in how they heal.
“When you call the helpline, you can even choose what music you listen to,” she said.
Alexandria Taylor, executive director of NMCSAP, told NM Political Report that there is a need for a stand-alone, statewide sexual assault helpline because so much of what underlies other problems, such as mental health concerns or substance abuse disorders, is that the individuals have a sexual assault trauma history but when they call other helplines, the caller doesn’t lead with the sexual assault story.
Cox estimates that 1.1 million individuals in New Mexico have experienced sexual assault. She acknowledged that, in a state of about 2 million, that is a shockingly high number but she said it feels shocking if one defines sexual assault as a “violent rape in an alleyway.” Cox said sexual assault can be anything a person experiences that they “said no to but it happened anyway.”
“Most have had an experience they’re uncomfortable with but had to tolerate. They didn’t want it to have happen,” Cox said when she defined sexual assault.
Taylor said having a 24/7 helpline dedicated for callers to talk anonymously about sexual assault is important because “for someone to get to the point to say they were sexually harmed, it is one of the most soul-wrenching, hardest things someone choses to share with another person.”
In a state with a significant shortage of behavioral health providers, Cox called the new helpline a “mental health release valve.” She said 70 to 80 percent of clients who visit community health centers have a history of sexual assault. She said that if the root cause of a person’s mental health issue is not addressed due to case worker overload, the person could still be spinning in anxiety, have relationship problems, work problems and it can have an intergenerational impact.
Cox said a study that looked at people utilizing the emergency room services chronically in Taos found that all of those patients had a history of sexual assault.
“It’s an issue behind so many of our overburdened systems,” Cox said.
RURAL NEW MEXICO
Despite a decrease in federal Victims of Crime Act funding, due to a decrease in fines and fees collected from white collar crimes, state funding has increased over the last few years, Taylor said. That has both helped to fill the gap left by the loss of VOCA funding and enabled the coalition to expand services so that, instead of 13 sexual assault providers, there are now 16 across the state.
Taylor said the new ones added are in Grants, Alamogordo and Carlsbad. She said the coalition is working with a provider in Española who is adding a sexual assault program to their existing structure, which will increase the number of sexual assault providers to 17 when complete. She said there were 10 sexual assault nurse examiners, who are specially trained to both provide clinical support to rape victims but also to collect evidence and testify in court when necessary. Now there are 13 with another about to start soon, Taylor said.
Cox said it’s “important for us to build a state-wide infrastructure to have access for anyone.” She said that in urban communities, a sexual assault survivor might seek help through a private practice provider but in many rural communities, a sexual assault provider is often the only helping service agency available.
“And we understand that isolation is a tool to perpetuate sexual violence against folks,” Cox said.
She said that 30 percent of the population lives in rural parts of the state but rural individuals make up 41 percent of the state’s sexual assault provider’s clients. Cox said the reason for that disproportionality could be because of the dearth of private practice providers in rural areas, which means the network of sexual assault providers, along with now the new helpline, are all rural individuals have to rely on for support.
Taylor said the state legislature allocated $500,000 in nonrecurring funding for the creation of the helpline over the past two years. She said U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-New Mexico, has allocated $1.6 million of congressionally directed spending to go to the coalition to also support the helpline but that money has yet to be approved by the U.S. Congress.
Taylor said the coalition will be asking for $1 million in recurring funding from the state in 2025 for the on-going operation of the helpline.
Taylor said that even with 16 sexual assault providers across the state, “that doesn’t reflect every New Mexico community.”
“If you don’t see a service provider in your community, you don’t know where to call,” Taylor said.
With the creation of the helpline, callers who can’t find any services in their communities will now have a place to call. Individuals can also chat or text if they prefer that method of communication. Callers can be connected to services if they want it through the helpline through either a three-way call or given the phone number if the caller wants to make those phone calls later. Or, they can just talk.
Cox said that if someone just wants to say the word, “sexual assault” and hang up, the caller is the one in control of the call and the level of support they receive.
WHO WILL TAKE THE CALLS?
Cox said the individuals who will be receiving the calls receive 120 hours of training. She said all of the responders on the helpline have a professional background of working with people impacted by trauma. She said that the responders will also receive ongoing supervision in their role and are trained to understand that the isolation and dehumanization that individuals feel because of sexual assault is “best met with connection and dignity.” Cox said that everyone receiving calls on the helpline were either born in New Mexico or have lived in the state for decades and are “deeply connected to what works in New Mexico.”
The rates of sexual assault among Native women are particularly high across the nation. With 23 federally recognized tribes and pueblos in New Mexico, the helpline’s language access is, currently, a work in progress and the helpline will rely on interpretation services to help bridge language barriers.
“We offer humility,” Taylor said, acknowledging that the helpline is still an evolving process and that is an area where it may struggle to meet the need.
She said the coalition will strive for more universal language access. She said the coalition also wants the helpline to be accountable and if anyone who calls in feels they were harmed, even if unintentionally, the coalition wants to hear about it. She said, should that happen, a caller should reach out to the NMCSAP’s office directly.
Taylor said one way the helpline was designed to build trust for individuals who might feel distrust, is that no one on the helpline will ask self-identifying questions of the callers.
Cox said in tribal communities, sexual assault survivors often have to make decisions about sharing information within their communities that is not confidential or safe or they have to reach out to more mainstream systems of care that might lack cultural competency. Cox said that the coalition hopes the helpline will provide a way for Indigenous individuals a place to go who feel “stuck in the gaps in the system.”
DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AWARENESS MONTH
Taylor pointed out that October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
She said domestic violence and sexual assault are two issues that have been “siloed” but the majority of people who experience sexual violence report that the perpetrator is a current or former intimate partner or an acquaintance. Taylor said that sexual violence that occurs in a relationship is “extremely dangerous.”
“It’s one of the indicators of the lethality of the situation,” she said.
Taylor said that it’s harder to quantify the rates of sexual assault during the early period of the COVID-19 pandemic, but rates of domestic violence increased.
“I can almost guarantee that sexual violence increased in those homes as well. It’s connected but we have a hard time acknowledging sexual violence exists in intimate partner relationships because of societal norms, culture and religions,” she said.
The idea for the helpline was born out of the first few weeks in the pandemic, Taylor said, when, for several weeks, everything except essential services shut down.
“We knew people were experiencing isolation and fear and whether they were recently harmed or have a previous history, those factors bring all that up for people,” she said.
*The New Mexico Sexual Assault Helpline is accessible 24/7 by phone, text, and online chat. Survivors can call or text 1-844-667-2457 or access the Helpline and online chat functions at nmsahelp.org.
Finding solutions for unhoused galvanizes Albuquerque residents - Damon Scott, City Desk ABQ
Interest was high in September when the local chapter of the national nonprofit Braver Angels hosted a debate in the International District. The debate was about whether more tax dollars are needed to address the city’s high number of people living on the streets and in shelters — estimated to be about 5,000.
While dozens who attended landed on both sides of the tax question, they all shared the common ground of craving more information about what the city and advocates for those experiencing homelessness are doing to find solutions. Most also expressed an interest in wanting to know how they could personally help.
Braver Angels representatives are seeking to harness the momentum created at the September event by bringing everyone back for a follow-up Oct. 26 — this time focused more on networking than debate — to “continue the conversation on an issue that touches us all.”
Organizers hope to entice city officials, nonprofit leaders and other advocates to come and inform the public about the people and organizations working on the front lines, including relevant programs, resources, and ways to contribute. Attendees are encouraged to bring business cards, informational flyers and any other helpful materials to the event.
“Our discussion will focus on brainstorming ways to improve what is already in place, while exploring new concepts for helping our homeless neighbors,” organizers said in a statement. “Let’s come together to build connections, tell about our experiences and foster ongoing collaboration and compassion.”
Braver Angels said it intends to compile and publish an online resource list sometime after the meet-up with publicly accessible information.
The event is scheduled to run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the International District Library, located at 7601 Central Ave. NE.
For more information, contact Braver Angels representative Mike Kruchoski at mike.cares@xemaps.com or at (505) 403-6522.
New Mexico authorities rescue hundreds after flooding strands many in high water and leaves 2 dead - By Walter Berry and Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
A southeastern New Mexico community began to dry out Monday after historic rainfall over the weekend produced severe flooding that left at least two people dead and hundreds stranded on rooftops.
Waterlogged vehicles were still submerged along some city streets in Roswell, while others were seen smashed along bridge supports and tossed up against trees and power poles after being swept away by the floodwaters on Saturday and Sunday.
All the standing water and mangled masses of twisted guardrails and splintered wood were scenes unfamiliar for the community. Surrounded by usually dusty plains and dairy farms, Roswell isn't famous for any notable rainfall but rather for being the spot where a spacecraft purportedly crashed in 1947.
Less than a foot (30.5 centimeters) of rain usually falls in Roswell an average year, but forecasters with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque said Monday that the weekend deluge was spurred by an upper-level low pressure system that was parked over Arizona.
"So the moisture just kept funneling and funneling and funneling up across eastern New Mexico," meteorologist Jennifer Shoemake said. "They got multiple days of heavy rainfall and severe weather in that area because that storm system was just not moving."
More than 300 people were rescued by the New Mexico National Guard, with 38 of those taken to hospitals for treatment of undisclosed injuries. New Mexico State Police said two people died as a result of the flash flood, but information on the victims or the circumstances of their deaths wasn't immediately released.
Even Chaves County Sheriff Mike Herrington posted a video on social media in which he was standing on top of his vehicle surrounded by water. Herrington said he had to go to the roof of his vehicle when it and several other vehicles became stranded in water that rose up to the windows.
At the civic center, a birthday party was derailed Saturday when floodwaters began pouring onto the dance floor. At first, some people tried to keep dancing while Moises Torres and his band, La Fuerza Del Bravo, played on.
"It looked like we were going down like the Titanic," he told The Associated Press.
As the water continued to rise, the guests rushed to the roof. Torres said he was hesitant to leave his band equipment behind, but as soon as the water reached the top of the stage, the band joined the party guests. Torres captured videos from the roof of floating cars in the rushing floodwaters.
"The water was dragging everything that was in the way," he said.
The group huddled in the cold on the roof for several hours as the rain continued through the night, Torres said.
Rescue crews arrived around daybreak Sunday as the water receded. The group descended from the roof to find the civic center filled with mud.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham declared an emergency Monday in response to the flooding, clearing the way for $1 million in state funding to bolster relief efforts. She met with city officials who were charting the path for cleanup and recovery.
Roswell City Councilor Juliana Halvorson told the AP that despite warnings Saturday morning for the potential for severe weather later that day, no one was expecting the subsequent flooding. She has surveyed much of the damaged and noted that many homeowners don't have flood insurance.
"There's too much devastation to see in one day," she said. "Some homes still have 4 or 5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 meters) of water or more. The water picked up cars and chunks of concrete, and those things are so heavy."
Authorities were forced to close roads leading to and from the city on Sunday. Water levels have since receded in many areas.
Forecasters said 5.78 inches (about 14.7 centimeters) of rain fell on Roswell on Saturday, breaking the city's previous daily record of 5.65 inches (about 14.6 centimeters) set on Nov. 1, 1901. Some areas surrounding Roswell received around 9 inches (22.9 centimeters) of rain in a matter of hours, according to the National Weather Service.
"It was a storm that just kept building and building south of town," City Councilor Edward "Ed" Heldenbrand said. "It was never anticipated that it would rain for five hours."
He spent part of Monday morning driving around to check on some property he owns.
"Roads damaged. Bridges damaged. Fences down. Vehicles piled up everywhere. A cargo container overturned next to car," he said. "An unbelievable picture of destruction."
A pilot killed in a plane crash at a New Mexico air show was an instructor for 'Top Gun' actors - Associated Press
A man who died in a crash of a small plane during a New Mexico air show was an accomplished pilot who had performed stunts at hundreds of air shows, authorities said Monday.
Charles Thomas "Chuck" Coleman was the only person on board the two-seat Extra Flugzeugbau EA300 monoplane when it went down around 2:30 p.m. Sunday during the Las Cruces Air and Space Expo at Las Cruces International Airport, city officials said.
Authorities said Coleman was performing aerobatics when the plane crashed about a half-mile west of the airport. The air show was called off after the crash.
Coleman's website said he was based out of California and was an engineer, aerobatic and test pilot with more than 10,000 hours of flight time.
He performed at hundreds of airshows and had provided more than 3,000 rides in aerobatic aircraft, according to his website.
It also said Coleman was an aerobatic flight instructor for actors in the 2022 film " Top Gun: Maverick," flying more than 100 flights to prepare the actors for flight in U.S. Navy F-18 Hornets.
"We would like to extend our deepest condolences to the loved ones and fans of Chuck Coleman," Las Cruces Mayor Eric Enriquez said in a statement Monday.
New Mexico State Police, the Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the crash. The airport was temporarily closed during the initial investigation, with only scheduled and emergency response flights permitted.