Councilors: Police Oversight Ordinance ‘Fair And Balanced’

By John Larson

SOCORRO - The Socorro City Council took one more step in putting into law the process for citizens to voice their concerns over police officers’ conduct.
With Mayor Dr. Ravi Bhasker absent, Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Donald Monette said the ordinance to create A Police Oversight Commission was a long time coming. “Councilors Mary Ann Chavez-Lopez, Michael Olguin Jr., and Peter Romero have spent long hours on the wording and legality of the law,” Monette said.
City Clerk Pat Salome said a public hearing will be held before the final vote during the Nov. 16 council meeting.
“The committee has been working on this probably nine months now, looking at similar ordinances in Albuquerque, and have already had a couple of public input meetings,” Salome said.
“What we like about this is that there is confidence in both directions, where everybody feels like they have the best of both worlds,” Councilor Chuck Zimmerly said.
Salome said the ordinance was based on Standard Operating Procedures.
“This gives an opportunity for the public to have a third party review of things that occur out in the field,” Salome said. “It doesn’t take any powers away from the mayor or the police chief, but gives the public a chance to voice their concerns about the police department.
He explained that police officers are trained to follow standard operating procedures.
“This is not just about officers’ actions, but also if policies are being followed.” Salome said.
“It’s a communication tool for the department and the public,” Monette said. “This will come up for the final time not at the next meeting, but the one after that. The public hearing will be two meetings from tonight.”
In other business:
The council approved a request to lease a five-acre parcel of land in the industrial park area to Blue Collar Construction, a road paving company. “We do asphalt maintenance and repairs all over the state,” said Kim Massey-Dimshz, a partner in Blue Collar Construction. “We plan on having a building here, which will be our base of operations during the off season.” She said there would be employment opportunities for part-time and highly skilled positions with the company. Blue Collar’s Tracy Turner said the business would begin building as soon as the mayor signs the resolution. He said Chamber of Commerce Director Terry Tadano was instrumental in the move to Socorro.
Tourism Director Deborah Dean told the council that SocorroFest drew up to 2,000 people to Plaza Park. “It was a huge success,” Dean said. “We had a lot of people that came from out-of-town. I think many were spillovers from the Balloon Fiesta.”

Councilors: Police Oversight Ordinance ‘Fair And Balanced’