OPINION: Law enforcement should be run locally

On Aug. 23, President Donald Trump declared himself to be “the chief law enforcement officer” for the United States — a title traditionally reserved for the attorney general of the United States (I wonder if Pam Bondi loaned him that title or he took it. My guess is she willingly gave it to him.). I am a lifelong Republican, but I will fully admit that I voted for the other candidate, although I do not agree with hardly anything for which she stands. I felt we could survive four or eight years of her, but we couldn’t survive a year of Trump. He’s proving me right. Between redistricting, domestic and economic chaos, to his unmitigated love for Russian President Vladimir Putin, just to mention a few issues, I’m genuinely concerned for our country.

According to the FBI, in 2025 Albuquerque is sitting at No. 3 to only Memphis, Tennessee, and St. Louis, Missouri, of the most violent cities in the U.S. Being a blue-governed sanctuary city, you can bet that Trump will be at our doorstep sooner rather than later with his power-grab-dressed-up-like-a-city-in-crisis schtick. When he is here, two things will be true: 1. Policing and public safety will be under the control of some Trump sycophant like Pam Bondi or a New Mexico equivalent. 2. They will be coming with some Washington, D.C.-type response whether we want it or not. I know most residents will be happy for the additional show of public safety support until they realize Trump has no interest in public safety just power (and possibly a distraction).

So, how do we respond when he comes to Albuquerque? Start talking to them now. We gladly take everything he offers but we insist on local control of the resources. No Bondi, no out-of-state military general in charge of public safety in Albuquerque. That job rests with Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina. And since we’ve had the New Mexico National Guard here since April, and we have yet to hear Gen. Miguel Aguilar’s name uttered in anger, let’s keep him in charge of the Guard.

If you choose to put the FBI, ATF, DEA, Homeland Security, etc., on our streets that would be just fine. As long as they’re answering to Medina. Medina and other city leaders will also make the call when it’s time for them to go. I’m a law-and-order kind of guy but I don’t want to live in a police state.

I’ve got an even better idea: How about we calculate how much this is going to cost the feds and put that funding toward permanent people for APD, preferably with higher recruitment standards (but that’s a topic for another op-ed — one I’ve written before).

A quick note to my brethren in law enforcement: When are you going to see that this guy is nothing but a phony? He doesn’t believe in you or what you do for a living. He doesn’t believe in you or the sacrifices you make for your community. How long are you going to stand behind this man? Have we learned nothing from our brothers and sisters with the Capital Police and the Jan. 6 thugs? Now he is planning on marching into your city to tell you and all your colleagues that you are doing a terrible job. He has disrespected your badge and your profession by those he has pardoned and those he plans on pardoning in the future. Don’t let the disrespect continue.