WITH POLICE CHIEF ERIC JOHNSON
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SFR: How have the last four or five months treated you since becoming police chief for the city of Santa Fe?
EJ:
Extremely busy. We've made some changes in the department as far as reorganization. One of the things I wanted to focus on is filling the number of vacancies we have right now. With the support of the new administration-the mayor and the city manager-we were able to get that property tax passed in order to address some of the starting salary issues and the pay issues for the officers that have been here for a number of years.
Tell me about the reorganization.
We've changed some of our scheduling to have some more officers on the street. We're looking at bringing back a full-time traffic unit to help address some of the traffic problems we're seeing around town.
Vacancies have been an issue with Santa Fe police for a long time. Do you think you'll actually be able to fill all of them?
We have a total of 155 positions. I believe we've filled 136 officers. In the past month, we've hired five new officers, but we've had three retirements in the same period. But with our new pay package, we're hoping we can attract some lateral officers from different areas, meaning officers from different parts of the state who are already state certified. We're also offering a $5,000 signing bonus for lateral officers. The starting pay for Santa Fe police is $14.25 an hour. Once they graduate from the academy, they go up to $15.50 an hour. After their first year, they're right in about the $17 an hour range.
It's been a busy summer in terms of crime in Santa Fe. Or at least it seems that way. On Oct. 4, there was a bomb scare at Santa Fe High. And it comes on the heels of the school shooting in Pennsylvania. Honestly, chief, is there anything you guys can do to prevent some wacko from walking into Santa Fe High with a gun?
We work very well with the schools as far as developing protocols, providing training for school officials. If one of these types of situations were to happen at the schools, our SWAT team has done some pretty extensive training at the schools over the years, as far as becoming familiar with all the floor plans, the schools, their grounds. I think this week's incident showed that with us working together with the school, we were able to bring the situation under control pretty quickly, identify where the threat was. And by the end of the incident, everyone made it out of the school safe.
Moving on to the police shooting of Robert J Garcia, which occurred on Sept. 3. Shootings like this, where an individual who is armed with a knife, or even unarmed, ends up shot by police after a struggle, are obviously very difficult and controversial. New Mexico State Police came to a preliminary conclusion that the shooting was justified. What about their full investigation?
I believe they've turned their findings over to the district attorney's office. It's up to them if they'll present the case to a grand jury. That's usually what happens with an officer-involved shooting.
Do you have any sense of the specific outcome of their investigation?
I really can't give too many details. The officers acted well within department policy. They're very well trained and took the actions that were necessary. It's one of the hardest decisions an officer has to make. It has an effect on them too. This is something the officers have to live with the rest of their lives as well.
What was your scariest moment as a police officer?
Several years ago, we were involved in a shootout with some local gang members. One of the officers that was with us on the scene, he was shot in the line of duty. That was Deputy Chief Stan Mascarenas. Obviously, when you hear over the radio that one of your fellow officers has been shot, it definitely has an effect. I was actually there, but in a different area. This took place in an apartment complex off of Rufina Street.
You were also involved in a high-speed chase this past summer with a group of young people on motorcycles, one of whom died.
There wasn't a chase at all. That's one thing that I need to clarify. I saw these kids traveling at a high rate of speed on Rodeo Road on motorcycles, driving carelessly, erratically. I was going the opposite direction. By the time I got turned around, I lost sight of them. I later caught up to them at a traffic light. I was going to stop one of them, but there was traffic and it was congested. When they saw me, they took off in between cars and went through an intersection. At that point, I wasn't even in a position to chase them. We don't chase cyclists for a traffic violation. So I proceeded in the direction they took off. And shortly after I drove up, one of the cyclists had crashed. And then a motorist advised us that a second cyclist had crashed up the road.
Did you come upon the kid who was killed?
It was the first motorist. He was still alive when I got there. The paramedics arrived within minutes. And that's the whole thing. There was no reason for these kids to run. For a simple traffic violation? There's no need to run.
Also regarding Santa Fe's young people, is it safe for kids to skate at the skate park given the two attacks on skaters this summer? The first attack, as you know, ended up with a young skater being brutally beaten.
Well, you know, we do have officers that are assigned to that area for every shift. We have met with city officials to come up with ideas to make the area a little bit safer. The city parks close at 10 pm. I think we live in a day and age where parents need to be aware of what their kids are doing. Obviously, in this particular case, this kid was out trying to have a good time, and this attack occurred. But over the years, you see an increase in seeing kids out later at night. The whole situation changes at nighttime.
I understand the first attack was random, and with the second one there might have been a previous dispute that led to the attack, and an arrest was made. Do you have a suspect in that first skater attack?
I believe we're looking into someone at this point.
On a lighter note, does anyone ever call you EJ?
Not that I'm aware of. My family calls me 'Ric.
