Report: 20 Albuquerque officers resign from Emergency Response Team - following protests Posted: Apr 19th, 2021 - 12:04 pm
More than a dozen officers resigned from the city’s Emergency Response Team (ERT) after an officer was disciplined for detaining an armed man who was taunting protesters.
The resignations included seventeen specially trained officers, two sergeants, and a lieutenant.
Shaun Willoughby, President of the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association said:
“They don’t feel supported here, and they don’t feel trust. They feel second-guessed, and they don’t feel that they can do their job, no matter how perfect they do their job, without getting in trouble.”
The mass resignations came following a counterprotest to a Proud Boys rally that was scheduled but never occurred at Civic Plaza over the weekend.
Williams had attended the protest with his family and claimed not to be a member of the Proud Boys. Police said that armed with the rifle, Williams got into a tense standoff with counterprotesters, and officers stepped in, escorting Williams into the convention center.
Police said Deyontae Williams came to the counterprotest armed with a rifle and was taunting demonstrators. Albuquerque police officers from the ERT detained the man and removed him from the location.APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said a child with Williams raised concerns:
“There was a lot of concern throughout because this gentleman did have a child with him.”
Gallegos said that there was confusion over whether Williams was going to be charged with a crime and that there was a breakdown in the chain of command during the incident which caused the confusion.
The confusion resulted in a sergeant being put on leave after the incident:
-snip
However, Willoughby said the issue was not just about confusion. He said officers cannot do their jobs and do not have the backing of the department:
Read more at lawenforcementtoday.com ...
LINK/URL: Report: 20 Albuquerque officers resign from Emergency Response Team
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