Albuquerque school board votes to let cops carry guns

Opponents from the League of Young Voters and the SouthWest Organizing Project pleaded with the board for gun-free schools and more emphasis on violence prevention and intervention. . .

Albuquerque Public Schools police officers get to wear their guns during school - but not today, tomorrow or even next week.

Officers on Wednesday night won their long-fought battle with the Board of Education, allowing the force to carry their guns on campus during school hours.

But board President Paula Maes said it will likely be months before officers see any changes in the district's gun policy as they wait for advice from the Attorney General's Office - or word from the Legislature - sanctioning a full-fledged school police department.

So even though APS officers are closer to their goal and are feeling higher morale after Wednesday night's vote, APS Police Sgt. Paul Brady won't wear his gun on his hip today at Del Norte High School.

He expects students to ask him why.

"They've been wanting to know when we were going to be armed," he said Wednesday after the board voted 4-3 to allow guns on campus during school hours.

Because the board did not specify a date, Brady and his fellow officers plan to wait for further instructions.

"We need direction from our superiors," Brady said. "We won't get up in the morning and put on our guns."

Current policy prohibits officers from carrying their weapons during school hours. Their guns must be kept locked in the trunks of their patrol cars.

Board member Mary Lee Martin said the board's Policy Committee, which she leads, will put the vote into practice with a new policy and a starting date.

"We'll have to ask the administration how fast this can happen," Martin said.

Brady said Wednesday's vote was "a big boost for our morale." He said the school police force "will get more qualified officers wanting to work for us. This is going to change things."

Hiring has been at a standstill over the gun issue and low pay. The force is down to 28 officers but is budgeted for 42, said Steve Tellez, acting school police chief.

After three hours of emotional testimony by police, parents, students, teachers and community activists, the board endorsed recommendations of the Community Safety Committee and the arming of the district's police officers around the clock.

Marty Esquivel, Gordon Rowe, Paula Maes and Martin backed the recommendation to form a full-fledged, accredited police department, even though the board's attorney Art Melendres said state law does not allow school districts to form their own police departments.

The board is expecting an opinion from the Attorney General's Office this month.

The school police are commissioned by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department and get their authority from the sheriff.

Board members Robert Lucero, Berna Facio and Dolores Griego rejected the commission's recommendations.

"We don't have the authority," to create a police department, Griego said. "To think so is arrogant."

Martin responded, "I guess I'm arrogant."

After the meeting, Griego said she felt the gun vote "may be the straw that breaks the camel's back," meaning the district could split over the issue.

"It is an east and west split," she said, because the east side board members voted in a block against the West Side members.

"My West Side principals were opposed to arming the police," Griego said.

Highland High School Principal Nikki Dennis, who sat through the three hours of testimony, said the gun vote means her school will be covered by an armed officer at all times.

Until the new policy goes into effect, only the city police officer assigned to the school is armed. When that officer is absent, the school is not covered by an armed officer.

"People get really emotional about this, but it's not a real change. We've had armed officers for 25 years," she said. "But this vote tonight is a show of support for our (school) police officers."

Opponents from the League of Young Voters and the SouthWest Organizing Project pleaded with the board for gun-free schools and more emphasis on violence prevention and intervention.

"To me, you can't secure schools by introducing weapons," said Charlotte Chinana, organizer with the League of Young Voters.

West Mesa High School graduate Crystal Williams, who opposed arming officers, said at least board members expressed genuine concern for intervention and prevention.

"I'm not disheartened by that," she said, "but my concerns are still over police power and racism and how much this district is divided along racial and class lines."

Where armed police spend their time could be telling, she said.

"I'll be interested to see how they divide their time and what schools they frequent," she said.

Board member Lucero said the board hasn't heard the end of the gun debate.

"We'll be back here rehashing the vote that just took place," he said. "I would be floored if the AG said this district could have its own police department."