President of NM police chiefs assoc.: Gov left police out of gun violence discussion

It didn’t take long for Steve Hebbe, chief of the Farmington Police Department, to feel the need to speak up on behalf of the New Mexico Chiefs of Police Association after beginning his second term as the organization’s president at the beginning of September.

Hebbe said he was disappointed when Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham issued an emergency public health order on Sept. 8 that suspended the right to carry open or concealed firearms in public in Albuquerque. On Sept. 12, Hebbe joined a chorus of other law enforcement officials around the state who criticized the order by issuing a statement on behalf of the association he leads, which he said represents most of the larger police departments in New Mexico.

In his statement, which appeared on a Farmington Police Department letterhead but was vetted by the association’s executive board, Hebbe writes that he read the governor’s order with deep concern and dismay, and notes that his organization was not consulted about it or given prior notice that it was being issued.

Hebbe also writes that the governor’s order — which was partially blocked by a federal judge on Wednesday — likely will be ruled unconstitutional and would not be effective in any long-term, meaningful way in addressing gun violence.

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“The knee-jerk reaction to curtail the rights of every citizen rather than focusing on lawbreakers who plague our communities can’t be justified,” he writes.

NM red flag laws, pretrial detention among law enforcement concerns

During an interview on Wednesday with the Daily Times, Hebbe said he and the police chiefs association have been engaged for several years in conversations with state leaders about potential changes to state law that they believe would help reduce gun violence in the state. Hebbe said he is a regular visitor to the Roundhouse in Santa Fe, where he speaks to state lawmakers, cabinet secretaries and leaders of the New Mexico State Police about the problem.

Hebbe said he has spent a significant amount of time discussing gun-control issues with state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Bernalillo, who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Hebbe said members of his association and representatives of the New Mexico Municipal League are particularly interested in seeing adjustments made to the state’s red flag law, which allows police officers or sheriff’s deputies to seek a court order to temporarily remove guns from people they believe might hurt themselves or others, as well as to the state’s pretrial release laws, especially as it relates to defendants accused of committing a gun-related crime.

“Violent crimes with guns, we should be taking a harder line with,” he said, explaining that prison sentences for those found guilty need to be stiffer.

Hebbe said he found those discussions encouraging and believed there might be some progress made toward addressing the concerns he shares with other law enforcement officials around the state when the Legislature convenes early next year.

“Those are the conversations I want,” he said, explaining that while he and other law enforcement officials have made a good-faith effort to explore a variety of solutions to the plague of gun violence in New Mexico, the governor’s action undermines that.

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Law enforcement left out of gun violence conversation

In his letter, Hebbe includes a passage that claims the governor’s action demonstrates a pattern of not involving law enforcement officials in the problem-solving process.

On Wednesday, he said he feels like he and many other law enforcement officials in New Mexico simply have been “closed out” of that discussion. He described the order as ill conceived and said he was not surprised it was partially blocked by a federal judge.

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Hebbe concludes his Sept. 12 statement by joining many other voices in calling for a special legislative session during which law enforcement officials across the state would work with lawmakers to address gun violence.

“We must work together to solve this serious problem that affects citizens throughout the state,” he writes. “By choosing the Public Health Order method, the Governor has taken the focus off crime.”

Nevertheless, Hebbe said he didn’t think it was too late for the two sides to come together and reach common ground on the issue.

“I hope not,” he said. “I think law enforcement leadership is still here and want to be working with legislative leaders across the state.

'The voice of professional law enforcement'

Hebbe said the idea to issue the statement was his. He crafted an original version of the statement and sent it to the executive board of the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police for feedback, a group that includes fellow chiefs Harold Medina of Albuquerque, Chris Williams of Portales, Andrew Owen of Bosque Farms and Kirk Roberts of Artesia, as well as Roberta Baca, criminal division director of the Office of the Superintendent of Insurance. The final version was released Tuesday afternoon in the form of a news release and a video message read by Hebbe on the Farmington Police Department’s Facebook page.

Hebbe said the New Mexico Association of Chiefs of Police features more than 60 members statewide and represents officials from Santa Fe, Las Cruces, Albuquerque, Hobbs, Rio Rancho and other cities. The organization bills itself as the voice of professional law enforcement in New Mexico and is dedicated to promoting leadership in law enforcement, providing training and support, and working with communities. It operates under the umbrella of the New Mexico Municipal League.

Hebbe previously served as president of the association in 2020 and 2021. He began a new two-year term as president on Sept. 1.

Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.

This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Hebbe says he's not surprised judge partially blocked gov's order