Posted on 07/16/2005 12:02:36 PM PDT by SwinneySwitch
Juan Alejandro spend his first full day as El Cenizo's police chief Friday reviewing the department's stores and developing a request for necessary equipment, which he submitted to the mayor.
Things are a bit tougher now because it's just him and Officer Richard Sparks on the streets.
Alejandro took over the job amid controversy Thursday night, when the three-member City Council accepted the resignation of the previous police chief, Rito Javier de Anda. The council voted unanimously to name Alejandro as de Anda's replacement.
De Anda's departure prompted the resignations of the city's only other peace officer as well as the entire 10-member volunteer force.
About 2 dozen people were at the meeting to protest de Anda's departure, with some of his family members claiming de Anda had been forced to resign.
De Anda was not at the meeting, and could not be reached for comment either Thursday or Friday.
Alejandro, 41, lives in El Cenizo and has been on the force for two months. A certified Texas peace officer since 1998, Alejandro graduated from Laredo Regional Police Academy in 1998 and the California Police Academy in 1993. He has a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Texas A&M International University.
"This opens a new chapter for our department," said Alejandro of his appointment. "We are a young city and need to better structure our police department."
The trouble began when Mayor Raul Reyes and de Anda disagreed over how to run the police department.
Reyes said de Anda resigned because the mayor criticized de Anda's department as "disorganized" in a police officers' meeting last month.
While the entire force consists of unpaid volunteers, the department has its own equipment including two cars Webb County donated in March.
At the officers' meeting June 27, de Anda told Reyes if he could find someone better to do the job, then he'd resign, and he handed the mayor his badge, recounted Florencio Calderon, the former assistant police chief.
When de Anda quit, so did Calderon and all 10 volunteers, leaving just Alejandro and Sparks available for duty.
The shortage of volunteers should be only temporary, Alejandro said Friday, and he noted that El Cenizo residents are being protected.
In the event of a crime, the sheriff's department is usually first on the scene, Alejandro said.
At Thursday night's City Council meeting, Calderon said that while he fears for El Cenizo's safety, he doesn't think the City Council appreciated the police department's work.
"I'm standing with (de Anda)," Calderon said. "I think the mayor has something against us. He wants to run the department his way."
At the meeting, Reyes replied that he doesn't have anything against de Anda or Calderon.
"All I said was that his department was disorganized," Reyes said. "They couldn't do something as simple as maintaining a mileage log for the police cars."
Reyes has said De Anda allowed improper use of police department equipment, including the police units. He also said some city property such as uniforms, guns and traffic cones, remain in De Anda's possession and have not been turned in.
Calderon said he hadn't seen any improper use of city equipment, and wasn't aware of anything that hadn't been turned in.
"We are unpaid and didn't even get money for gas," Calderon said. "If we would use the cars it would always be related to police business such as going to Laredo for (department) fund-raisers or to pick up equipment or to the shooting range, but the mayor didn't see that."
Calderon said he purchased his uniform and gas out of his pocket and never asked to be reimbursed.
Reyes said the department needs to be more professional, and he anticipates Alejandro can achieve that goal.
"This is a step in the right direction for the department," Reyes said.
(Francisco Vara-Orta can be reached at 728-2562 or by e-mail at fvara@lmtonline.com)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1443611/posts
"The new ordinance requires any individual or group pay $700 per hour between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. if they want to stay at the El Cenizo Community Park during those hours.
In addition, no person will be allowed in any public facility, including the community park, after hours unless on official city business or special permission is granted.
Guns are also prohibited on public facility premises."
El Cenizo Police Ping!
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off this South Texas/Mexico ping list.
Fascinating what's going on down there. I was wondering while reading the story, who exactly it was that made/was attempting to make those laws to keep the Minutemen out. So, it was the mayor? And now his entire police force has quit, oh, too bad so sad.
Open borders my ass.
This is what you get.
Perhaps a Smith or Jones could clean this up.
This sounds as if there is a personal dispute between the mayor nad the police chief. If the mayor didn't like what was going on why didn't he send over a city employee for a couple of hours everyday? Probably because then he would have had to cut short lunch or God forbid, come in early.
Volunteers are something that every city needs to keep the taxes from blowing the roof off of the police and fire departments.
I know men and women who have given thousands of hours of their time freely because they felt that they were helping to make a better community for themselves and their families.
That second police officer in the cars at night in your town could be a volunteer. He probably is paying for his own ammunition at the range, bought his own uniform, etc. and never once has anyone outside the department said thank you. The same goes for the fully staffed fire trucks.
Add the numbers up over the years and their services would have cost the taxpayers millions of dollars. Or they would have had much less protection from fire and criminals.
Fixed yer typo Ranch.
I agree with you sentiment.
Another "city ordinance" forbids city staff, which consists of one employee and two volunteers, from helping the U.S. Border Patrol find illegal immigrants or inquiring about any person's immigration status.
Nevada or Indiana?
What ever it takes.
Break the chain of corrupt people installing equally corrupt people.
Ya noticed that I don't spell reel good huh? Much preciate yer help.
I wonder if the Mayor is legal?
Hey amigo, get used to it. This will be common practice in the new Mexifornia.
Rodriguez himself crossed into the United States illegally from Mexico but became a U.S. citizen in 1995.
MORE HERE ---
http://www.englishfirst.org/elcenezo/elcenezoreuters81699.htm
If they protect themselves like I would it could be a disaster.
50 dead mexicans and 60% of America wringing its hands.
We cannot win unless the PC BS stops and we can call a spade a spade. The Federal Government has to be on our side for once too.
Now that Rodriguez is a 'legal' citizen he's determioned get as many of his relatives across as he can. Myself, I think the sumbitch lied when he took the Oath.
The Oath of Citizenship
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God. In acknowledgement whereof I have hereunto affixed my signature.
In some cases, INS allows the oath to be taken without the clauses:
"… that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform non-combatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by law…"
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