Albuquerque Lodge #1 News - FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE

Apr./May/June 2015
Fraternal Order of Police
Albuquerque Lodge #1 News
President’s Message
Meetings at a Glance:
 April 9, 2015
 May—NO MEETING
 June 11, 2015
 Meetings are held at the
Moose Lodge, 2121 Edith
NE.
2015
Board meets at 5:30pm. General
membership meets at 7:00pm.
I would like to
start off by saying I
hope all our brothers
and sisters are doing
well.
I would like to
inform our members
that we just signed a
Letter of Intent with a
company to purchase a
new building. Next we
will be working on a
purchase agreement
and sending it to inspectors and commercial contractors to give
us an estimate on remodeling this building
to suit our needs. This
is a very exciting time
for all of us at Albuquerque Lodge #1. If
everything goes well,
we could finally have a
new home for our
members.
I encourage
our members to come
out to the meetings so
you can be updated on
the process of the purchase of a new building.
I would like to
personally thank John
Sharkey for stepping
up and taking the vacancy for the Bernalillo
County Sheriff’s Department Trustee. It is
always nice to see new
members on the board.
I would also like to
take this time to
thank Diane Kay
our office manager
for all the hard
work she has put
into helping Albuquerque Lodge #1
run smoothly. Diane will be leaving
us to move on to
another adventure
in her life. We wish her
well and hope this new
adventure in her life
brings her happiness.
I would like to
remind everyone that we
have the local, state and
national police memorials coming up in May. I
hope to see our members at the memorials.
I would like to
end this by reminding
my fellow lodge members to keep our brothers and sisters who are
still on the job in their
prayers, along with the
officers that are still recovering from injuries on
the job.
Be safe and I
hope to see you at the
next General Membership Meeting.
.
FOP #1 BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Mark Manary
President
Toby Gallegos
Vice Pres.
Robert Radosevich
Treasurer
vacant
Secretary
Harry Tipton
Chaplain
Julie Jessen
Sgt at Arms
Robert Valtierra
Conductor
Robert Martinez
Past Pres.
FOP #1 TRUSTEES
Roberta Radosevich
Mike Benavidez
Oscar Alvarez-Ruiz
State
APD
MDC
Mary Jones
At Large
Donald Davis
At Large
Vince Harrison
At Large
John Sharkey
BCSD
PAGE 2
ALBUQUERQUE LODGE #1 NEWS
Chaplain’s Report
By Harry Tipton
Since our last newsletter went out, FOP Lodge
#1 and our law enforcement community have experienced losses.
On March 20th, Luis Michael (Lou) Chavez, age
53, passed away following several years of fighting cancer. Luis was retired from the Albuquerque Police Department with a thirty year career. During his years, Lou
served as a patrolman, motorcycle officer, pilot, and
school resource officer.
On March 26th, John Phillip Kelly passed away
after suffering a heart attack while at work. In his nine
years with the Albuquerque Police Department, John
served as a patrolman, detective, and was preparing for
the Sargent’s exam. John was 36 years old.
On January 29th, Ms. Jean Bales passed away at
age 90. Jean was a long time active member of the FOP
Lodge #1 Auxiliary, having held several offices during her
years of membership. I was honored to have been
asked to officiate at the services for Jean and grateful
to have all of the Auxiliary Board attend the services.
As chairman of the New Mexico State FOP
Scholarship Committee, I was disappointed to receive
only six scholarship applications. I believe some members started the application process somewhat late as
I did receive several calls from members after or very
near the submittal deadline. I again, although somewhat early, encourage our members to start the application effort earlier this year. It can take time to request transcripts, seek letters of recommendation,
and complete the application form. I would like to see
those numbers back up over 15 or so in the coming
application cycle.
As always, our members are encouraged to
contact me to report on situations involving our Brothers and Sisters. [email protected].
Calendar of Events
April:
May:
June:
9th. Lodge #1 Board meeting 5:30pm. General meeting 7:00pm at the Moose Lodge.
25th FOP New Mexico Executive Board Meeting
5th. Albuquerque Law Enforcement Memorial. 10:00am at the APD Academy.
14th. CANCELLED: Lodge #1 meeting due to members at the National Memorial.
20th. New Mexico State Law Enforcement Memorial at the Academy in Santa Fe, NM.
4th-6th FOP New Mexico State Conference in Las Vegas, NM.
11th. Lodge #1 Board meeting 5:30pm. General meeting 7:00pm at the Moose Lodge.
The 100 Club of New Mexico
I was recently appointed to the NM100 club Board of Directors. I note that many of our members in
the FOP Lodges across NM were once members of the 100 Club of New Mexico and have since dropped
out. Many FOP members are still current members of the 100 NM club and their participation is appreciated. I hope that those that are not current may have just forgotten to renew their membership. Obviously it
is a fantastic organization that has assisted First Responder families when a First Responder is killed in the
line of duty. The club would be unable to function if the many members did not renew their dues.
I would like to ask that the many former 100 NM club members please consider reinstating their
$100 yearly membership. I would submit that probably all of us in Law Enforcement have known a first responder killed in the line of duty whose family was assisted by the club.
There is a copy of the membership form that can be used by any former or new member on our
website. They can get it back to me I can carry it in. The website address is here in case anyone would like
to visit it. It also identifies the number of officers lost from the many NM Departments.
www.100clubnm.org
This year’s meeting will be held at the Country Club on May 21, 2015 and the Guest speaker will be
Carol Lee the Albuquerque SAIC for the FBI.
Thanks to all.
Jim Lehner
(505) 250-3483 [email protected]
APR./MAY/JUNE 2015
PAGE 3
Auxiliary News
Rifle Raffle
The Fraternal Order of Police Grand Lodge Auxiliary in conjunction with the Albuquerque Lodge #1 Auxiliary is raffling a HENRY Golden Boy .22 Rifle – Special Law Enforcement Edition. The drawing will be held at
the National Conference and Expo on Thursday, August 13, 2015, at the David L. Lawrence Convention
Center in Pittsburg, PA. For tickets, please contact Linda Martinez at (505) 385-2117/.
100 Anniversary Badge Set
Please take a look at the attached flyer. You have an opportunity to purchase a 100th year anniversary
badge, coin, and pin. You can purchase any or a set of these beautiful pieces. If you purchase early, you
may be able to get your badge # on the badge. The attached information provides the information for the
purchase of these items.
$100 Winners Drawn every month for a whole year June 2014 thru May 2015
The FOP Albuquerque Lodge #1 Auxiliary picks winners every month. The winners thus far:
June – Jason Katz, July – Erlinda Hourigan, August – Eric Jojola, September –
Karl Isselha, October - Linda Martinez, November – Erlinda Hourigan, December – Greg Reese, January – Debbie Manderson, February – Ray St. John,
March – Bob Martinez. The next winner will be drawn at the FOP/Auxiliary
meeting on Thursday, April 9, 2015 at the Albuquerque FOP General Membership Meeting. The money earned assisted the Albuquerque Lodge #1 FOP/
Auxiliary volunteers who attended National Police Memorial week in Washington DC in 2014 and assisted the survivors.
Silpada Jewelry Fundraiser
The Auxiliary has been working on several fundraisers to support the various activities and organizations
that we are committed to. Included: Special Olympics, Crimestoppers, COPS for Kids, Local, State and National Police Memorials, etc. A fundraiser was held in the month of March to raise funds by asking supporters to buy beautiful Silpada Jewelry. The event was a success; we raised over $700.00. A big “Thank
You” to everyone that supported us.
2015 Memorial Services
The dates have been set for the Local, State and of Course the National Memorial Services.
APD is coordinating the local Memorial Service. The date is Tuesday, May 5, 2015. The time is 10:00 at
the APD Academy. All: local, county, state, and federal agencies are being invited and included in the
event. Bernalillo County is assisting with this event. The Albuquerque Lodge #1 FOP Auxiliary will be welcoming and assisting the surviving family members. The State Memorial will be held on Wednesday, May
20th at the State Law Enforcement Academy in Santa Fe.
The Auxiliary is comprised of family members of an FOP Member. “Family Member” is defined in the Albuquerque Lodge #1 Auxiliary Constitution
and By-Laws as, spouse, significant other, parent, sibling, child/grandchild 18 years of age or older, grandparent, mother-or father-in-law, sister
or brother-in-law, son or daughter-in-law aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins. The membership dues are $30 a year; this includes a
$2500 accidental death benefit for all members. Anyone wishing to join the Auxiliary please contact President Linda Martinez at 385-2117, or
Secretary Sharon Valtierra at 293-1284.
The Auxiliary meetings are held at 6:00 PM on the second Thursday of the month, at the Moose Lodge.
Fraternal Order of Police
Albuquerque Lodge #1
The Albuquerque Lodge #1, of the Fraternal Order of Police
was established in 1948. It is an organization of law enforcement officers of the United States and is affiliated with the
State Lodge and National Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Po-
6747 Academy NE, Suite D
Albuquerque, NM 87109
Phone: 505-345-2639
Fax: 505-345-4724
E-mail: [email protected]
office hours 9:00am-2:00pm
Monday-Friday
lice. We strive to create better working conditions for members of the law enforcement profession by solidifying their
strength and promoting their mutual welfare in the City of
Albuquerque, the State of New Mexico and the Nation.
Help us Save a Tree! We will be happy to save paper and postage costs by sending you an electronic version
of our future newsletters. Just call, write, or send an email to Diane at the FOP Lodge #1 office. Provide
your name and your email address. You can also view it on our website at http://www.fop1abq.org.
New Mexico State Lodge Report
At this time, I want to take a
moment to acknowledge our brothers
and sisters who have made the supreme sacrifice in the performance of
their duties to protect and serve the
citizens of their communities throughout the country. Particularly, it is with
a heavy heart that I report that Navajo
Police Officers Alex Yazzie, James
Hale and Herbert Frazier of the Navajo
Shiprock Police Department were involved in a domestic violence call on
the Navajo Reservation which resulted
in one officer being killed and two
officers being critically and seriously
wounded. I request a moment of silence for our brother Officer Yazzie
who was killed at the scene. Officer
Hale was critically wounded and had
to have his leg amputated due to the
injuries he sustained. Officer Frazier
was seriously wounded and will recover. The Officers had responded to a
domestic violence call and upon arriving at the scene, the suspect opened
fire on the officers with an AR-15 assault rifle mortally wounding Officer
Yazzie and wounding Officers Hale
and Frazier. The New Mexico Fraternal
Order of Police met with the family of
Officer Hale and provided his wife with
monetary assistance as her husband
will be in the hospital in Albuquerque
during his recovery. The perpetrator is
dead.
In New Mexico, there were
many pressing items in the Sixty Day
Session of the New Mexico Legislature
which ended on March 21, 2015.
Over 1700 bills, memorials, resolutions, etc. were introduced making it
somewhat questionable as to what
would get done. For example, of the
1363 bills introduced, there were only
169 bills that made it to Governor
Martinez. Specifically, bills that
passed both chambers (House and
Senate) with an impact on law enforcement numbered eight. Several
others impacting law enforcement
simply died in Committee and never
came to one or the other chamber for
a vote. As a result of the elections in
November 2014, the New Mexico
House of Representatives is now controlled by the Republicans. The last
by Bob Martinez
time the Republicans controlled the
House was 60 years ago. The state
Senate is controlled by the Democrats
and the Governor of New Mexico is a
Republican. There are a number of
bills that have been introduced to include: making New Mexico a “Right to
Work” state; abolishing payroll deduction of dues for union membership;
removing requirements for employees
to join a union; requiring police oversight boards across the state to name
a few. This bill was tabled and did not
become law in the state. Another
measure that was introduced was a
Return to Work for law enforcement
bill. It was aimed at increasing the
ranks of police officers in Albuquerque
and other municipalities and counties
having difficulty in recruiting and retaining officers. This bill failed in Committee as it attempted to address an
employment/staffing problem on the
back of the retirement program. The
bill was opposed by the Public Employees Retirement Association. There
were, however, some positive legislation that was introduced, for example,
a line of duty injuring bill that would
allow officers injured in the line of
duty to accrue credits towards retirement while they are on the mend. Unfortunately, this bill was not voted on
in the state Senate. Suffice it to say,
this Legislative Session was not very
productive and it was a very politically
induced one. Among the bills that did
pass was the $6.5 billion budget for
the state The Governor has the authority to line item veto the Budget
and she has until April 10, 2015 to
sign or pocket veto other bills that
made it through the Legislative Session.
I reported at the 61st Fraternal Order of Police New Mexico State
Conference in Albuquerque last June,
we the members of the FOP have to
work together to address the issues
and problems that we are facing. Our
profession is under attack by the
electronic and print media, the left of
center public and many politicians.
For example, the Albuquerque Police
Department has been working on a
Consent Decree which resulted from
the findings by the Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice
(DOJ) that the police officers in Albuquerque violated the civil rights of
citizens and found a pattern and
practice of same. The Consent Decree negotiations between the City of
Albuquerque and the Department of
Justice, Civil Rights Division have
been completed. As previously reported, this Consent Decree came about
because of the findings of DOJ report
in April 2014 claiming that the police
officers in Albuquerque had established a pattern and practice of violating the constitutional rights of citizens. A Monitor has been selected
and he his Dr. James Ginger who
served as the Monitor for the Pittsburgh Police Department and New
Jersey State Troopers Consent Decrees. As of the writing of this report,
the federal Judge is in the process of
approving the Consent Decree. Additionally, the Albuquerque City Council
approved an ordinance creating the
Civilian Police Oversight Agency
(CPOA. The CPOA has subpoena powers and has the authority to reject the
discipline issued by the Chief of Police. Given this reality, I am reminded
of the words of our National President, Chuck Canterbury: “Enough Is
Enough – The Police Are Not The
Problem.” In New Mexico, we are experiencing employment problems,
poverty conditions and mental health
issues which are contributing the lack
of respect for police officers and authority in general.
In light of these matters, I
reported that we need to examine
and improve the way we are doing the
FOP Business in the state. Clearly,
this is a very important matter for us
to deal with especially since we are
experiencing a lack of respect for the
police by some of the citizens in Albuquerque and across the state. Frankly, the problem is not the police. The
problem, in my opinion, is due to a
numbers of issues. For example, poverty, lack of jobs, lack of respect for
authority and a lack of mental health
services. Of course not all citizens
believe the police to be the problem;
However, some of the policy and decision makers appear unfortunately
to be listening to a very vocal minority within our communities across the
state. In New Mexico we are continuing to take the opportunity to work to
have a constructive dialogue with the
community leaders, the politicians
and the media.
I want to further underscore
in this report that the Fraternal Order
of Police in New Mexico is facing considerable attempts by the media and
the elected legislators to continue to
downgrade or eliminate the hard
fought for benefits and collective
bargaining rights of law enforcement
officers. We are fortunate to have a
Collective Bargaining Law and an
Officer Bill of Rights in New Mexico;
but, I am quick to add that given the
mood of politicians, executives and
managers which is fueled by the media and the economic conditions in
the state that this may well change.
We continue to experience unprecedented reports that the pension fund
has solvency and unfunded liability
problems. To counter these reports
which are intended, in the minds of
many, to gut the benefits of public
employees, the FOP throughout the
state continues to work hard and
smart by encouraging the members
to communicate with their family,
neighbors, elected representatives
and the voting public with the objective of educating them on the impact
of these draconian proposals. The
message that the Fraternal Order of
Police in New Mexico and the members are taking to our representatives, the executive and to the public
is a simple one that is, that public
employees, especially police officers,
are not the problem and did not create the problem. We are saying to
these segments of our society in New
Mexico that the Fraternal Order of
Police wants to continue to work with
the legislature and the executive and
the community to help solve problems. We continue to explain and
educate these elected and appointed
officials that this is not simply a financial problem; but, more importantly, it is a public safety issue. If
you don’t recruit and retain police
officers and firefighters, pay them a
fair wage and provide them with
health benefits, the good citizens of
the community and state will suffer.
We will be discussing these
issues again at the Fraternal Order of
Police New Mexico State Conference,
June 4-6, 2015 because these issues
are of paramount importance and they
are not going away anytime soon. There
continues to be an enhanced need for
the FOP elected Officers and Members
to get energized and to get involved and
to recognize that the future of the FOP
rests with each of us and our efforts to
advocate for good public policy, fair and
equitable wages, working conditions
and benefits. The attitude of assuming
that law enforcement will be taken care
of by the public, by the politicians, by
the executive, by the legislature, by appointed or elected officials is a dangerous assumption and without merit as
witnessed by the actions taken by legislatures and executives of both parties
across our country. This is clearly playing-out in Albuquerque and in New Mexico. Furthermore, the act of politicians
at the local, county state and federal
levels coming before the members and
wanting the FOP endorsement and receiving it almost automatically because
they say they support “cops” has to be
looked at closely and critically. Because
upon close examination of the voting
records of these elected representatives, their votes don’t match their campaign rhetoric. To this end, the FOP
Members in the state are carefully considering any endorsement of any candidate for any political office regardless of
the political subdivision. We have to
stop being taken for granted! We have
to hold politicians and elected or appointed officials accountable!
In closing, I want to provide you
with a report, as the National Program
Development Committee Chairman,
that a number of exciting programs
have been rolled out to benefit the
members. I encourage you to take advantage of these FOP Benefits Programs, such as, the Liberty Mutual
Home and Auto Insurance, LifeLock,
555 Give Back, National Police Credit
Union, Leisure Travel. Shortly, our FOP
Benefits Coordinator will be providing
you with information on a variety of life
and other voluntary insurance benefits.
Finally, the Fraternal Order
of Police in New Mexico continues to
see a slight dip in its overall membership. To counter this matter, the
Recruitment and Retention Committee and each of our Members are
aggressively working on this matter.
Likewise, the FOPNM Labor Services
Program continues to administer
several contracts throughout the
state through its Director and Labor
Representatives. The Labor Services
Program Director is working successfully and diligently in assisting
the Labor Council in their work. I
also want to extend an invitation to
my brothers and sisters and to
those who are running for office at
our 100 Year Anniversary Conference in Pittsburgh to come to the
62nd Fraternal Order of Police New
Mexico State Conference. The Conference is scheduled for t June 4-6,
2015. The Conference will be held
in Las Vegas, New Mexico at the
Plaza Hotel.
I leave you with the words
of Ralph Waldo Emerson – “What
lies behind us and what lies ahead
of us are tiny matters compared to
what lies within us.”
2015 NEW MEXICO LEGISLATIVE
SESSION
The 2015 New Mexico Legislative Session convened on Tuesday, January 20 and adjourned on
Saturday, March 21, 2015. The Session began with Republicans controlling the State House of Representatives for the first time in sixty
years. After both parties in the
House organized, Representative
Dan Tripp was elected Speaker of
the House. The Republicans elected
Representative Nate Gentry of Albuquerque as Majority Leader and
Representative Alonzo Baldonado of
Los Lunas as Majority Whip. The
Democrats elected Representative
Brian Egolf of Santa Fe as Minority
Leader and Representative Sheryl
Stapleton of Albuquerque as Minority Whip. The Senate Leadership remained virtually the unchanged with
Senator Mary Kay Papen as Senate
President Pro Tempore; Senator
Michael Sanchez of Belen as Majority Floor Leader and Senator Michael
Padilla of Albuquerque as Senate
Majority Whip. The Senate Republican Leadership consisted of Senator
Stuart Ingle of Portales as Minority
Floor Leader and Senator William
Payne of Albuquerque as Minority
Whip.
The Legislators produced
and passed a $6.2 Billion Budget;
but failed to pass a Capital Outlay Package. The Session was dominated by big
issues such as Drivers Licenses for Undocumented Immigrants; Right to Wok;
Minimum Wage; 3rd Grade Retention;
Abortion and Confirmations. During the
Session a Senator resigned in wake of an
ethics investigation. Both Senate Members and House Members accused each
side of slowing down Legislation and numerous lengthy floor debates were held
in each Chamber. A total of 1365 Bill
were introduced during the Session. 64
Bills were tracked by the FOP and of
these 7 passed, e.g., HB174, HB254,
HM69, SB83, SB94, SB95SB510 and
SJM4. 57 died, e.g., HB31. A more thorough analysis will be available after April
10, 2015 which is the deadline for the
Governor to act on the Bills passed.
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE NEW
MEXICO EXECUTIVE BOARD MEETING,
ALBUQUERQUE, APRIL 25, 2015
There will be an FOPNM Executive Board Meeting to discuss plans for
the State Conference and the 2015-2016
Budget among other important business
matters. Also, a Resolution to amend the
Fraternal Order of Police New Mexico
Constitution and By-Laws has been introduced and will be discussed.
Plaza Hotel, 505.425.3591 or
800.328.1882. Contact: Sean Williams,
Guest Services Manager. Room rates
$70 to $90 plus tax. The hosts are: FOP
Meadow City Lodge #20 and Las Vegas
Police Officers Association.
Fraternally,
Bob Martinez
Robert L. (Bob) Martinez
FRATERNAL ORDER OF POLICE NEW Fraternal Order of Police
Albuquerque lodge #1 Immediate Past PresiMEXICO STATE CONFERENCE, LAS VEdent
GAS, JUNE 4-6, 2015
New Mexico State President
The State Conference is scheduled for June 4-6, 2015 at the Plaza Ho- National Program Dev. Committee Chairman
62nd
tel in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Room reservations should be made with the hotel:
F.O.P. Lodge #1 Officers at the New Mexico State Legislature,
February 20, 2015.