Bernalillo County sheriff boots firefighters from helicopter unit over marijuana policy 

After more than 10 years of partnering on search and rescue missions, wildfire fights and medical interventions, Bernalillo County firefighters have been ousted from the Sheriff's Office's helicopter unit.

The reason? A policy change allowing firefighters to smoke marijuana while off duty.

"Sheriff John Allen made this decision in early June 2025 following a county policy change that allows firefighters to use marijuana off-duty and removes random cannabis testing," Jayme Gonzales, Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office spokesperson, said in a news release Wednesday. "MASU (Metro Air Support Unit) performs aviation operations and life-saving rescue work where the margin for error is zero."

The president of the firefighters union, which covers Albuquerque Fire Rescue and Bernalillo County Fire and Rescue, said that — despite the policy change — firefighters agreed to random drug tests in order to remain compliant and continue working with MASU, but Allen said no.

The Metro Air Support Unit runs out of a BCSO-operated helicopter and was historically staffed by BCSO pilots and deputies and BCFR personnel. The unit — utilizing law enforcement and medical expertise — provided aid in search and rescue operations, helped fight fires and assisted BCSO in arrests.

On July 16, 2022, the former Metro 2 helicopter — a Bell UH-1H — crashed and killed three BCSO deputies and BCFR rescue specialist Capt. Matthew King. A wrongful death lawsuit filed after the crash alleges the helicopter was a death trap with numerous engine fatigue cracks that caused the aircraft to plummet to the ground. 

The lawsuit, which made no mention of marijuana usage or impaired flying, is still pending. A federal investigation determined that the operator of the helicopter, which was flown and maintained by BCSO Undersheriff Larry Koren, did not use lab results showing the compromised engine "to troubleshoot" the issue.

"Had the operator conducted an analysis, they could have potentially identified the deteriorating component and impending failure," according to the National Transportation Safety Board, which attributed the catastrophic engine failure to "poor maintenance." 

'Rebuild MASU the right way'

In December 2023, BCSO took to the skies in a new helicopter. 

Gonzales said that Allen rebuilt the unit with the mindset of avoiding more loss of life. 

"We owed it to the families we lost, to the men and women who fly and work these missions, and to this community to rebuild MASU the right way," Allen said in a statement Wednesday. "We do not cut corners and we do not compromise. When the county changed policy to allow marijuana use and remove random testing, I made the call to protect this unit." 

Firefighters were allowed to use marijuana off-the-clock after Bernalillo County commissioners voted unanimously to expand the county’s policy on cannabis use in December 2024. Eric Olivas, who was the commission's vice chair at the time and currently serves as chairman, sponsored the policy to allow a majority of county employees to use cannabis off the clock. 

Olivas primarily advocated for firefighters and first responders to be able to use cannabis — which became legal for recreational use in 2022. He said that first responders dealt with highly traumatic situations and had the right to seek treatment — including cannabis — for post-traumatic stress disorder and other stressors. 

"This allows them to work with their physicians, with whoever they receive health care from, to find the best alternative, the best medicine for them," Olivas said during the December 2024 meeting.

Olivas was not available for comment Wednesday.

'No one better than our firefighters'

Miguel Tittmann, president of the International Association of Firefighters for the county and Albuquerque, said firefighters were frustrated to learn that they were no longer part of the helicopter unit — which had been a partnership since 2012 — and said union leadership signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to partake in randomized cannabis testing. 

"Our members were 100% willing to sign an MOU that changes the contract so they would be testing according to BCSO's standards and this MOU was negotiated with the Bernalillo County," Tittmann said. "The sheriff decided to completely kick the department out anyway, so we're upset about that. We completely abided by the request to test according to their process." 

The MOU states that all members of the MASU team would freely and voluntarily undergo randomized urine and breath tests and any member who tested positive would be "immediately removed from the MASU and will be permanently disqualified from future participation in the unit for the duration of their career," but that no further disciplinary actions would be taken by the department.

Gonzales, in response, said that BCSO's standards are higher than ever and they would "not accept even the slightest impairment risk. Period."

BCSO has since replaced BCFR paramedics with staff from the University of New Mexico Hospital and MASU's capabilities have not been affected, according to Gonzales. 

A UNMH spokesperson could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

Tittmann said that the decision to expel firefighters from the unit was not made in compliance with collective bargaining and that, in light of the decision, the union might need to seek clarifications from the labor board.

Teddy Ygbuhay, vice president of the union's Bernalillo County chapter, said the statements made in the BCSO news release were not only false but also offensive to firefighters.

"(Sheriff Allen) invokes our brother (Matthew King) and the other sheriff's deputies that passed away in the crash," Ygbuhay said. "There is no one better than our firefighters and there was no one better than Matt King. He's entitled to his own opinions about who's better on that team, but no one is better than our firefighters."