SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - The man who oversees basic training for police cadets across New Mexico is defending his new curriculum, which includes giving officers more leeway to use deadly force.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports (https://bit.ly/1dWXTAz) that Jack Jones, director of the state’s Law Enforcement Academy, has come under criticism since being given control in September of all basic training courses.
Jones’ changes include more training in traffic stops involving gunfire and the use of possibly deadly force. He is basing his use-of-force techniques on a 1985 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that found an officer can use deadly force to stop a fleeing suspect if the officer feels that person could commit serious physical injury or even kill someone, Jones said.
He said officers need to be prepared for any violence and that previous training models have been too restrictive.
“Evil has come to the state of New Mexico. Evil has come to the Southwest. Evil has come to the United States,” Jones said.
Thomas J. Aveni, a former police trainer and current director of the Police Policy Studies Council, a New Hampshire-based group that studies law enforcement’s use of force, said case law might not be a sufficient basis for an entire curriculum.
Other changes Jones has made recently include shortening the cadet training period from 22 weeks to 16 and making everyone, regardless of age and gender, meet the same standards on physical-fitness entrance exams.
Jones, a retired Army colonel, served in the military for more than 30 years and in the New Mexico State Police for 10. He was hired in January 2013 as the academy’s deputy director. The board promoted him in June. Then last fall, the academy’s eight-member board unanimously voted to give Jones the sole authority to design the curriculum. Some have questioned whether it’s wise to not let others contribute.
“It would be out of the ordinary for one person to write (the curriculum) without other people having input,” Aveni said.
Phillip Gallegos, a former academy instructor who was fired in July for insubordination, said he refused to teach some of Jones’ required firearms training. According to Gallegos, Jones told instructors when he first became director to demonstrate how to stop a car by shooting at it.
“This is the thing - why are you shooting at a car? You should be shooting at the individual that is shooting at you,” Gallegos said.
Academy officials confirmed Gallegos’ firing, but they would not discuss the reasons for it.
Jones declined to comment on Gallegos’ allegations. But Jones said some of the training is to help cadets learn what happens if they shoot at a vehicle, not to stop cars in their tracks.
“We want them to see that if there’s a threat that’s inside a vehicle and they need to shoot at it, what happens to that round,” Jones said. “Don’t you think they should be prepared for the most violent encounter that they can come up against?”
The new training comes as the Albuquerque Police Department is under a U.S. Justice Department civil rights investigation. The department is facing allegations of excessive force and three dozen shootings by officers since 2010.
State police have also drawn controversy after a series of high-profile shootings. Last month, a grand jury ruled a state police officer’s fatal shooting of a Santa Fe woman after a high-speed chase was justified. In October, an officer shot at a minivan full of children during a chaotic traffic stop.
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Information from: The Santa Fe New Mexican, https://www.sfnewmexican.com
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