Edgewood’s Law Enforcement Meltdown
by John Weckerle
In this week’s issues of the Mountain View Telegraph and The Independent, articles appeared reporting the resignation of Edgewood Police Chief Paul Welch. According to the articles, factors leading to the Chief’s departure include problems with standard operating procedures, as well as issuing equipment and ammunition.
The Telegraph article suggests mismanagement of equipment and ammunition. This would, on the surface appear inexcusable – but without hearing the other side of the story, it is not clear how this came to pass. Of significant interest is the discussion of the development of procedures. According to the Telegraph, Mr. Welch filed a draft of the procedures on June 1, 2008. The article also states: “Stearley said he required the chief to turn in a set of procedures before the first officer was hired, but didn’t have the work reviewed until recently.” The Town’s attorney reportedly saw problems with the procedures, which lead, supposedly, to the Chief’s resignation.
It seems inconceivable that such a critical issue was essentially left ignored for such a length of time, and allowed to build to a crisis. Questions that must be asked and answered are many, but should certainly include an examination of just why the procedures were not reviewed “until recently.” Mr. Welch’s side of this story should also be heard. It is one thing to be negligent in developing vital policies, but quite another to attempt to do so and be hogtied by bureaucratic inattention. Without access to Mr. Welch’s resignation letter – which, according to the article in The Independent, the town refused to release – it is impossible to ascertain the facts of the matter.
The article in The Independent informs us that it is the Town’s position that Chief Welch’s resignation letter is not subject to public inspection. We disagree, and have filed a New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act request for the document, which also advises the Town that a complaint will be filed with the New Mexico Attorney General’s office if the request is not honored. We attached a copy of the text of the statute for reference purposes.
In light of the fact that The Independent reports that Mr. Stearley’s response to Mr. Welch’s resignation states: “I vehemently disagree with the allegations you have made against me,certain councilors, and the Town’s attorney,” we find the Town’s refusal to release the letter both suspicious and disturbing. Equally disturbing, however, is the apparent failure of the Town government to properly review and enact the procedures in a timely fashion. This has resulted in the need to cobble together a set of operating procedures (in two days) which, astoundingly, the Town Council directed Mr. Stearley to implement – as with the previous procedures, without having been reviewed by the town attorney and without the Council having had the time to review the procedures before acting. In our opinion, the Town Council should stop enabling this and other behaviors, interact directly with its appointed committees rather than having communications filtered by the administration, and play a more active and attentive role in overseeing the Town’s operations. We note that this is just the latest of a string of avoidable missteps and problems; other examples include (but are certainly not limited to) the confusion surrounding such issues as public events, the regional animal shelter, the sign ordinance, the proposed windmill ordinance and the town’s ongoing and problem-beleaguered sewer catastrophe project. The Council should stop accepting “rush jobs” from the Town administration; require expert review of policies, resolutions, ordinances, etc. before passage (or directing the administration to implement); and be more assertive in ensuring that the administration’s interests in doing things a certain way do not run counter to the interests of the municipality itself.
To underscore that last statement, we agree wholeheartedly with Councilor Brad Hill’s opinion that this current disaster – which is costing the Town at least $35K in salaries that are producing no value, plus benefits – could have been avoided by hiring a Town Administrator after the last one was discharged. In the Telegraph article, Mr. Stearley is quoted as stating “I didn’t have the experience to know the significance of the deficiency.” We understand that Mr. Stearley is trying hard to wear the Administrator’s hat in addition to the Mayor’s, but hard work and good intentions do not always substitute for knowledge and expertise – and in the case of municipal management, the latter two are necessary. The Town Council should immediately initiate the process of recruiting and hiring a Town Administrator with the appropriate qualifications, regardless of Mr. Stearley’s apparent objection to hiring an Administrator. Further, because Mr. Stearley has apparently effectively appointed himself to the position, he should be considered to have a conflict of interest with respect to that issue.
9 Responses “Edgewood’s Law Enforcement Meltdown”
You probably ain’t seen nothing yet. sic ’em
When I read this article , for some reason, it seemed to remind me of the sign Pres Truman had on his desk (according to the history books). The sign read: “The Buck Stops here!” I Just wonder weher in E-Wood does the buck stop? I guess all of the confusion is a “payback” for their “stealing” Wal-mart away from us in Tijeras. Now, with all the sales tax they are raking in from that store, a town employee tells the “Telegraph” that no projects can get done at their town center beacuse they have no money. Some body is getting the money., if it ain’t the town!
This is nothing new for Uncle Paully…he’s been heard to say that he would not tolerate liars…Welch was also heard implying that he was always looking for something better and encouraged others from inside the agency for which he was acting as CHIEFto do the same.
It is with this in mind that I feel for the community of Edgewood as Uncle Paully has left you up in arms after he made promises even he knew he couldn’t keep.
It is sad to say but I sincerely believe Paul Welch never has nor never will he comit to any community as a socalled Chief of Police.
Paul must have been working on his policy manual on his PDA that he kept playing with during meetings. I’m sure that’s what the beeping was all about… I’m sorry, but I’m not from New Mexico, and I am just taking a shot in the dark. Am I very far off? I bet that everyone (both officers) heard a lot of stories about airplanes though. Keep searching the internet, I’m sure Paul will get another gig shortly (he’s probably been interviewing) and see how that one goes.
I see that Welch has run another police department into the ground, no surprise here. Maybe the leaders of Edgewood have learned a valuable leason about the value of doing a little more of a backgroud check when hiring someone for such an important position. Of course those of us in Illinois are thankful they didn’t.
Well, it is not at all surprising that the Edgewood city administration is finding itself in this position. The Mayor is doing a disservice to Edgewood residents by failing to manage the Town effectively. The people deserve professionals or, at a minimum a high level of diligent oversight. Loved the article – please keep the heat up and the pressure on!!!
Illinois folks – we’d be interested in knowing the pre-Edgewood history; can you provide us some information or point us to some links? Thanks!
John:
He rode into town on a White Horse, that turned out to be an old jackass. Spent two years telling the same old stories over and over again and did NOTHING. He destroyed the morale of the entire police department, except for one underling who thought Paulie was his ticket to the top, and then left like a thief in the night. Taking the Edgewood job without telling anybody in Charleston, until they happened across it on the internet. Just search Paul Welch Chief of Police and there are several articles. You would be one step ahead of the mayor of Edgewood evidently. Good Luck!
John:
If you look up the definition of carpetbagger, you might find the response “See Paul Welch”. He arrived in Charleston and became a lame duck mayor’s “sharp stick in the eye” to a small but efficient police department. Unfortunately for Paul, it sounds like he could not find any stooges to do his work. It did not take too long for his apathetic attitude towards Edgewood to surface. I would say Edgewood became another resume building experience for Paul that fell apart quickly. He did not have a well-qualified staff that carried the load while he sat around spitting out rhetoric and playing on his pocket pc. The damage he did to good people inside the Charleston Police Dept. will bare the scars for some time to come. I say “good riddens” may be to kind for good ol’e Paul.