Phill Casaus: A small town, a new chief and a return to normal
Aug. 13—It's not as if the village of Questa was more lawless than any other community in New Mexico.
It's New Mexico — a higher-than-Connecticut tolerance for property crime, drugs and assorted other sh ... enanigans comes with our state-issued driver's license.
But Questa Mayor John Ortega figured more than two years without a police department was enough. He campaigned on what you might call the Bring Back the Chief platform while running for the Northern New Mexico burg's top political job this spring.
After taking office April 1, he made it Priority No. 1.
Though it wasn't easy — "It was a challenge and a half," he said — the mayor finally got his man. Last week, he introduced current New Mexico State Police Officer Ronald Montez Jr. as Questa's police chief (and for awhile, police department), effective Aug. 22.
"I feel like Chief Montez is going into a good spot," said Ortega, the excitement bubbling in his voice. "I want to see him succeed; he's the perfect person for the job."
Questa's previous chief resigned in 2020, taking the village's three officers with him. City leaders opted to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the Taos County Sheriff's Office, which provided coverage for the 1,700 residents.
Ortega and others are quick to note they were not unhappy with the assistance they got from the sheriff's office. But having a local badge and a local face, Ortega said, provides a tie — and a reassurance — that cannot be replicated.
It matters. You look at small-town America these days, and these are the kinds of things that go away as politics and economics and the passage of time chip away at the basics. Schools close. Main Street desiccates. The Class of 20Whatever is living in Albuquerque or Phoenix or Denver. Your police department is outsourced.
Go down that road long enough, and the town you love isn't your town anymore.
Ortega said people wanted someone driving a car that said Questa Police for the kind of safety they could see — and just as important, a security they could feel.
Plus, said Village Councilor Jason Gonzalez, residents were done with the drip-drip-drip of property crime that had come to town. Was it anarchy? Of course not. But the little things chafed people raw. Maybe that sounds familiar.
"Someone saw a ladder in the yard, it was theirs; someone sees a handyman's jack, they take it," said Gonzalez, who also heads a neighborhood watch program. "Nobody's there — not to prosecute, I don't mean that, but ... nobody was there to hold them accountable."
For more than a quarter-century, accountability in Questa was the province and the provenance of a man named Frank Gallegos. He'd served the department for 25 and a half years, almost all of them as chief, before retiring in 2013. Like many in town, he'd grown up there — knew the rhythms, knew the seasons, knew who was trouble and who was OK. Knew what it meant to be a Questa High School Wildcat.
As much as anything, it seems like the town wanted another Frank Gallegos. There was only one.
"They broke the mold after Frank," Ortega said.
Now retired from policing, Gallegos recalls his time on patrol with a warm fondness, almost a glow.
"It's a unique town," Gallegos said.
"I never felt like I went on a call alone. I was never alone," he said. "I'd have a volunteer firefighter, an EMT [emergency medical technician]; I'd take a call and they would respond with me. We worked closely together. It felt like we were one big department."
Not surprisingly, Gallegos said it's important for a town to have a police chief because, well, it's a pretty visible job.
"It's really important for young kids to get to know who the police chief is, to get to know them on a first-name basis," he said. "Most of them will program your number into their cellphones. It's about trust. That's what a small community needs."
Montez, who could not be reached for comment, will be tasked with re-creating the department that had gone fallow. That might not be easy — when it comes to police officers, every town and city in New Mexico are proverbial crabs in a bucket, battling one another for available officers. Getting one who's familiar with Questa, or will move there or live close by, isn't going to be easy.
"Staffing was hard," the vaunted Gallegos said, rewinding to his days as the old boss.
"He's going to have to do some rebuilding work," Ortega said, referring to the new boss.
The town just bought a new police vehicle, a Ford F-150, though Gonzalez said "it's gonna need to get policed up" — i.e., lights and back-seat fencing to separate cop from suspect. There are a couple of older vehicles, too, though Ortega admits somebody is going to have to determine whether they even run.
But, hey, it's a start.
In a small town, that's what it takes to get policed up: a start.
Phill Casaus is editor of The New Mexican.
