Española Police Chief Mizel Garcia shared his proposed plan for how he wants the city to spend its share of the $750,000 allocated to the area as part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s emergency declaration.
Grisham declared a state of emergency in Española and the surrounding areas in an Aug. 13, executive order.
According to the order, a “surge in violent crime, drug trafficking, and public safety threats” overwhelmed local authorities. The emergency declaration includes Española, Rio Arriba County, Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Clara Pueblo.
Garcia shared his plans with the Council at its Aug. 26 meeting, as well as what has happened since Grisham made the declaration.
Next Steps
During the Aug. 26 City Council meeting, Garcia shared a timeline of events starting after the emergency declaration.
He said he met with Grisham’s staff on Aug. 18, who provided him with the criteria on how the money can be spent.
Garcia shared the department’s funding requests with Grisham’s office on Aug. 20. This included:
• $75,000 for office overtime pay
• $50,000 for seven mobile data terminals
• $40,000 for a TruNarc handheld narcotics analyzer
• $145,000 over two years for an automated non-emergency dispatch product
• Non-specified sum for vehicles
Grisham’s office also requested a list of metrics Garcia will provide to show that these interventions and purchases are making an impact. He said he will give them arrest, citation, car stop and arrest warrant data.
Garcia attended an operational meeting with New Mexico State Police on Aug. 26, to discuss how the two agencies will continue to collaborate.
All stakeholders had a meeting scheduled on Friday with the governor’s office to learn about how the funding will be allocated amongst the city, county and pueblos.
“We already have operations plans,” Garcia told the council. “We already have scheduling to see how we can use this funding.”
He hoped they can start as early as Monday.
Homelessness and Drugs
Representatives of the city, county, Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Clara Pueblo wrote letters to Grisham’s office expressing the need for community support due to issues like homelessness, drug use and crime.
District 2 City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Peggy Sue Martinez said she supports Garcia and also recognized the community’s need for programs and resources to address the root causes of these problems.
There is a huge need for drug rehabilitation and detox facilities, transitional housing and mental health services, she said, and the city cannot arrest its way out of the current situation.
“These are all things that we’ve talked about a lot, but we’ve not moved forward on any of it,” Martinez said.
Martinez, who is the chair of the city’s Public Safety Committee, said the solution to many of the city’s problems is a jail.
“I really believe that the priority of this governing body has to be that we have to rebuild a jail,” she said.
Martinez said she attended a stakeholder meeting with Garcia, and that every group there expressed that the lack of a jail is a problem.
“It’s hard for these guys to arrest and arrest and arrest and not have the opportunity of putting them somewhere and having to be held back by Rio Arriba County, by Santa Fe County, by Taos or anybody else,” Martinez said.
District 4 Councilor Samuel LeDoux agrees with Martinez and Garcia.
Once crime is under control, they can move on to tackling the bigger issue, LeDoux said.
“We cannot address anything when crime is just rampant and people are suffering today, and people’s properties are getting broken into today and people’s stores are being stolen from today,” he said.
Public Hearings
The council also approved three ordinances during the Aug. 26 meeting regarding property and homelessness.
The first ordinance provides procedures and penalties for removing trespassers from private property.
The ordinance states that situations involving trespassing on public property can “lead to simmering feuds that at times end in violence” and that police involvement “could be helpful in de-escalating potential confrontations, making it more likely to secure a just result.”
According to the ordinance, if a private property owner makes a good-faith report to law enforcement that someone is trespassing, an officer can ask them to leave. If the person accused of trespassing refuses, “the officer may cite the violator into Municipal Court, the charge being failure to comply with a lawful order of a police officer.”
A person can be charged with a petty misdemeanor, be sentenced up to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine.
The second ordinance makes camping illegal on public property, which includes parks, sidewalks, streets, right of ways and open space. The ordinance states that unauthorized encampments are unhealthy and pose a danger to others.
People who temporarily lie down, sleep or sit are not in violation of the ordinance.
The ordinance also prohibits adult use of playground equipment or being within 50 feet of the area.
It also includes a list of 23 prohibited actions at parks, ranging from damaging plants to crawling or walking on walls and structures to placing trash anywhere other than a garbage can.
Like the ordinance regarding trespassing on private property, a person in violation of this ordinance can be charged with a petty misdemeanor, sentenced up to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine.
The third ordinance is aimed at reducing the number of shopping carts removed from businesses. It is split into two sections: business owners and unauthorized removal and abatement.
The ordinance requires all businesses within the city to affix signs to the carts with the business name, contact information and a message stating unauthorized removal of the cart is prohibited by city law.
Even when a shopping cart is removed from a store property, it still belongs to that business.
Businesses must submit a containment plan to the city’s Code Enforcement Division that includes methods to prevent unauthorized removal.
These can include things like staff monitoring, a locking system or other physical barriers. Businesses will also be required to submit retrieval plans that include the frequency of cart sweeps, retrieval contact and documentation of retrievals.
Businesses that fail to follow these rules can receive a warning on the first violation and a fine of $100 per cart on their second violation.
Subsequent violations are subject to up to a $500 fine and potential license review.
The ordinance also prohibits people from removing a shopping cart from a business without permission.
Possession of a cart is a petty misdemeanor and a person can be fined up to $300, ordered to perform community service and the cart can be seized.
By Amanda Martinez
Special to the SUN
Española Police Chief Mizel Garcia shared his proposed plan for how he wants the city to spend its share of the $750,000 allocated to the area as part of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s emergency declaration.
Grisham declared a state of emergency in Española and the surrounding areas in an Aug. 13, executive order.
According to the order, a “surge in violent crime, drug trafficking, and public safety threats” overwhelmed local authorities. The emergency declaration includes Española, Rio Arriba County, Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Clara Pueblo.
Garcia shared his plans with the Council at its Aug. 26 meeting, as well as what has happened since Grisham made the declaration.
Next Steps
During the Aug. 26 City Council meeting, Garcia shared a timeline of events starting after the emergency declaration.
He said he met with Grisham’s staff on Aug. 18, who provided him with the criteria on how the money can be spent.
Garcia shared the department’s funding requests with Grisham’s office on Aug. 20. This included:
• $75,000 for office overtime pay
• $50,000 for seven mobile data terminals
• $40,000 for a TruNarc handheld narcotics analyzer
• $145,000 over two years for an automated non-emergency dispatch product
• Non-specified sum for vehicles
Grisham’s office also requested a list of metrics Garcia will provide to show that these interventions and purchases are making an impact. He said he will give them arrest, citation, car stop and arrest warrant data.
Garcia attended an operational meeting with New Mexico State Police on Aug. 26, to discuss how the two agencies will continue to collaborate.
All stakeholders had a meeting scheduled on Friday with the governor’s office to learn about how the funding will be allocated amongst the city, county and pueblos.
“We already have operations plans,” Garcia told the council. “We already have scheduling to see how we can use this funding.”
He hoped they can start as early as Monday.
Homelessness and Drugs
Representatives of the city, county, Ohkay Owingeh and Santa Clara Pueblo wrote letters to Grisham’s office expressing the need for community support due to issues like homelessness, drug use and crime.
District 2 City Councilor and Mayor Pro Tem Peggy Sue Martinez said she supports Garcia and also recognized the community’s need for programs and resources to address the root causes of these problems.
There is a huge need for drug rehabilitation and detox facilities, transitional housing and mental health services, she said, and the city cannot arrest its way out of the current situation.
“These are all things that we’ve talked about a lot, but we’ve not moved forward on any of it,” Martinez said.
Martinez, who is the chair of the city’s Public Safety Committee, said the solution to many of the city’s problems is a jail.
“I really believe that the priority of this governing body has to be that we have to rebuild a jail,” she said.
Martinez said she attended a stakeholder meeting with Garcia, and that every group there expressed that the lack of a jail is a problem.
“It’s hard for these guys to arrest and arrest and arrest and not have the opportunity of putting them somewhere and having to be held back by Rio Arriba County, by Santa Fe County, by Taos or anybody else,” Martinez said.
District 4 Councilor Samuel LeDoux agrees with Martinez and Garcia.
Once crime is under control, they can move on to tackling the bigger issue, LeDoux said.
“We cannot address anything when crime is just rampant and people are suffering today, and people’s properties are getting broken into today and people’s stores are being stolen from today,” he said.
Public Hearings
The council also approved three ordinances during the Aug. 26 meeting regarding property and homelessness.
The first ordinance provides procedures and penalties for removing trespassers from private property.
The ordinance states that situations involving trespassing on public property can “lead to simmering feuds that at times end in violence” and that police involvement “could be helpful in de-escalating potential confrontations, making it more likely to secure a just result.”
According to the ordinance, if a private property owner makes a good-faith report to law enforcement that someone is trespassing, an officer can ask them to leave. If the person accused of trespassing refuses, “the officer may cite the violator into Municipal Court, the charge being failure to comply with a lawful order of a police officer.”
A person can be charged with a petty misdemeanor, be sentenced up to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine.
The second ordinance makes camping illegal on public property, which includes parks, sidewalks, streets, right of ways and open space. The ordinance states that unauthorized encampments are unhealthy and pose a danger to others.
People who temporarily lie down, sleep or sit are not in violation of the ordinance.
The ordinance also prohibits adult use of playground equipment or being within 50 feet of the area.
It also includes a list of 23 prohibited actions at parks, ranging from damaging plants to crawling or walking on walls and structures to placing trash anywhere other than a garbage can.
Like the ordinance regarding trespassing on private property, a person in violation of this ordinance can be charged with a petty misdemeanor, sentenced up to 90 days in jail and ordered to pay a $500 fine.
The third ordinance is aimed at reducing the number of shopping carts removed from businesses. It is split into two sections: business owners and unauthorized removal and abatement.
The ordinance requires all businesses within the city to affix signs to the carts with the business name, contact information and a message stating unauthorized removal of the cart is prohibited by city law.
Even when a shopping cart is removed from a store property, it still belongs to that business.
Businesses must submit a containment plan to the city’s Code Enforcement Division that includes methods to prevent unauthorized removal.
These can include things like staff monitoring, a locking system or other physical barriers. Businesses will also be required to submit retrieval plans that include the frequency of cart sweeps, retrieval contact and documentation of retrievals.
Businesses that fail to follow these rules can receive a warning on the first violation and a fine of $100 per cart on their second violation.
Subsequent violations are subject to up to a $500 fine and potential license review.
The ordinance also prohibits people from removing a shopping cart from a business without permission.
Possession of a cart is a petty misdemeanor and a person can be fined up to $300, ordered to perform community service and the cart can be seized.