E-mail Story
Print Friendly Front Page 
opinion guest_columns
Monday, April 25, 2011
Welcome to Albuquerque Not Especially Friendly
By Steve Muell
Mohave Valley, Ariz., resident
On April 8, I along with three other adults brought 18 high school students from Arizona to Albuquerque for a Key Club District Convention.
We arrived around noon at the Amtrak Train Depot on First Street. Due to the large size of our crowd, we were transporting them five at a time to the convention site. I had left with the first four students and one chaperone, leaving 14 students and two chaperones waiting under the canopy in the loading/unloading area.
During that time, two individuals engaged in a drug transaction that turned confrontational. One of the two male subjects pulled a knife, a fight ensued and they inflicted physical damage to each other. They broke up their fight and fled in separate directions. The students were terrified, as this occurred within 20 feet of our group.
I received a phone call from one of the two chaperones advising me of the situation and asking how soon before I returned for the next group of students.
Upon my arrival, I observed two police cars parked in the area of the bus station and walked over to talk to a police officer. After locating a police officer and advising them of the circumstances, I was asked what I wanted them to do as the fight was over and no suspects were in the area. I asked them to simply provide presence while I continued to transport the students to the convention site. I asked if I could transport people in the back of my pickup truck, and the officer indicated I could if they were over 16. Another officer was kind enough to suggest that I put the students on the public bus and transport them all at one time to the convention site.
The officer I spoke with along with the other officer who was not involved later drove away from the depot area by driving north away from the depot — and not by the depot to show some police presence.
While we understand that drugs are a problem everywhere and that they would most likely be more prevalent in an area such as a train and bus depot due to the amount of traffic that would bring to the area, we were deeply disturbed by the lack of law enforcement concern for the safety of not only the residents of their community, but to visitors to the city of Albuquerque.
Our first impression of the city was not a positive one and while this convention is small, consisting of only approximately 400 people, it brings money into the city that they would otherwise not receive.
Key Club holds this convention in the city of Albuquerque every four years, and if we cannot feel safe visiting your town, perhaps we should consider taking our convention business elsewhere.
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
