Ladies and Gentleman, something is truly screwed up in Albuquerque (and the rest of this country). After reviewing the City of Albuquerque’s top 250 salaries in 2013, I have come to the conclusion that crime really does pay off (if you can hide behind a badge while doing it).
I was stunned to discover that the police officer that murdered 19-year-old Mary Hawkes was the highest paid police officer in the city in 2013. Here are 4 crazy facts about the Albuquerque Police Department that may blow your mind:
- Officer Jeremy Dear is the highest paid police officer on the force. He earned (stole) $118,641.17 in 2013. (UPDATE, Officer Jeremy Dear was fired from APD on 12/01/14)
This is THE Officer Dear who was on the scene when Officer Sean Wallace shot and killed an unarmed, 22 year old Alan Gomez. He was caught giving conflicting details of the incident.
Oh yeah… Officer Dear is also the one who shot and killed 19-year-old Mary Hawkes. She was shot 3 times in a downward trajectory and had multiple blunt force injuries. (no lapel video available)
Officer Dear has also had several excessive force complaints in which no video is available because his lapel camera malfunctioned
- Officer Russell S. Perea was the highest paid employee in the entire City of Albuquerque (I did not include him as the highest paid officer because he was not on the force in 2013). He pulled down a total of $154,169.16 in 2013. (Back pay for time missed)
Officer Perea was fired in 2011 because he was deemed to be “untruthful” about his activities and conversations with Officer Levi Chavez on the night Officer Chavez’s wife was murdered. (A court recently ruled that Officer Perea should be reinstated)
- Sergeant Daniel Carr made $106,900.59 in 2013.
Sergeant Carr was involved in a case where he followed a stripper’s boyfriend and arrested him for DWI. (According to reports, Sergeant Carr was infatuated with the stripper and wanted to get rid of the boyfriend)
Sergeant Carr has also been reprimanded officially several times, missed court, and been involved in 3 accidents. He has been flagged by APD’s Early Warning System.
- 17 members of the APD made more than $100,000 in 2013 (12 of them made more than Mayor Berry’s $103,854.40)
These are just a few of the strange facts about the $100,000 Club. One Officer on the list has a current civil rights case against him; 2 Officer’s have been involved in shootings; one Officer was in an accident that cost the City $75,000; and another Officer refused to consider creating stricter policies against officer’s who give false statements (after the Boyd shooting).
It is simply amazing that taxpayer money is wasted like this. How can these people earn 6 figures? Something needs to change!
Burque's Daily Loco 
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