Here is my scary police story.
I was driving about an hour after dark, northbound on Rio Grande Blvd. in the section of Albuquerque known as Los Ranchos, which has its own local government and police force. This was about 15 years ago, before it was common to have GPS.
Rio Grande is a long and winding street that becomes semirural, with very few streetlights and few intersections that connect to the rest of the city.
The street signs were small and hard to read. I was driving slowly, trying to see my intersection.
A car came behind me, tailgating with bright lights so I couldn’t read the street signs. I was frustrated and scared, trying to find my turnoff. I had to speed up a little bit to separate from this car.
Suddenly the car darted in front of me and then stopped. It was a police car. The officer walked to my car and told me I had been speeding – a few miles over the required 30 mph. I don’t remember what I said, but I was frightened and did not have my wits about me. The officer let me go after warning me to stay out of Los Ranchos.
There was nothing threatening about me that could have led a police officer to suspect my motives. I was a middle aged Anglo woman, sober, driving an ordinary car.
I probably had a cell phone but not within reach. Since then, whenever I drive alone after dark, my cell phone and GPS are right next to me.
A few days later a friend advised me to call the village offices and complain about that officer’s behavior, but I never did.
Now when I hear African-Americans’ stories about the police, I have a bit of understanding. But I admit I cannot walk in the shoes of African-Americans, who routinely have to teach their children complex rules of etiquette for encounters with police, especially when driving, just to prevent getting shot.
If we want a more just and less fearful society, it’s only reasonable that we invest resources to curb the excesses of overly aggressive police officers.
Someone recently created the phrase “defund the police.” This is very unfortunate because it is so easy to distort the intent, and because it was predictable that Republican politicians would attach the phrase to Democratic politicians who never endorsed it and don’t agree with it.
There’s no denying that problems exist with police forces in New Mexico. We can say this without jumping to conclusions about fault or blame. New Mexico has placed highest or second highest in the nation for our rate of police shootings in each of the last four years. Something is not working. We have too much crime, too much mental illness, too many drug and alcohol problems, and too many police officers who lack access to more peaceful alternatives.
The recent Albuquerque Journal poll shows that a solid majority of New Mexicans support their police and do not approve of cutting police funding. The survey itself was restricted to “either/or” questions but pollster Brian Sanderoff commented that voters’ feelings were probably more nuanced.
I probably would have been counted in the group of voters with mixed feelings. I absolutely support the police and want them to be able to do their job of protecting the public. I would also favor more training in nonviolent techniques, more support services such as on-call mental health counselors, and other measures to reduce the need for violent responses, plus, of course, less crime. That’s asking a lot, and I know, because of virus and budget issues, it can’t all happen right away.
New Mexico is eternally a work in progress. Our task is to acknowledge our imperfections and keep chipping away at them – including officers who scare drivers after dark.
Triple Spaced Again, © New Mexico News Services 2020