Albuquerque resident Dave Anderson talks the talk about supporting law enforcement, and rides the ride too.
Anderson, 73, spent nearly 14 hours with Albuquerque police officers in the Foothills Area Command July 23-24. He started at noon on a Saturday and didn’t end the ride-along until 1:45 a.m. early Sunday. Anderson accompanied several officers during what he described as a “very lively” night with several shootings reported.
“Tonight was my fourth ride-along in the Foothills Command,” he told New Mexico Sun. “The last call-out of the evening was a shooting that started at Four Hills Studios and ended at the entrance to Whispering Sands Apartments across the street. The car was stolen from Presbyterian Hospital and the victim was discovered by Albuquerque Fire & Rescue while putting out a fire in the area. We arrived as the victim was being put into the ambulance.”
Like many police calls, it was a complex matter.
“The victim was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital, treated and was found to have two outstanding felony warrants,” Anderson said. “The shooter was believed to be a 15-year-old juvenile. After the stolen car was photographed by CIS and impounded, and a weapon retrieved, Officers William Washington, Brian Shannon and Natalie Ortega, plus a detective and I, went to the Four Hills Studios to look for the shooter.”
They were unable to locate the young suspect, he said.
Anderson said it’s no secret that the apartment complex is the scene of many calls involving drugs and criminal behavior as police average more than two calls a day at the location. While the officers were on the scene, some residents yelled at them, he said.
But it wasn’t all mayhem and danger.
“During our shift, there was one cool community policing outreach. Officer Natalie Ortega gave a little boy and his brother a junior police sticker,” Anderson said. “The two little boys were very excited, and their parents were very grateful. It was very cool.”
He met Ortega at the touch-a-truck event. She started with the department as a PSA and recently started working as a patrol officer.
“This is the second ride along that I have been assigned to officer William Washington. We have been on many calls out together,” he said. “Officer Washington is awesome. William is extremely professional and I felt very safe riding with him. Officers Washington, Ortega and Shannon are all first-rate police officers and deserve our support. Incredible people.”
Anderson has attended citizen academies sponsored by the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department and the DEA. He has been present for gang round-ups, DUI blockades and other law enforcement activities. He says he always felt safe.
He said he obeys the wishes of the officers he accompanies, but is allowed to go along with most of their activities, rarely remaining in the patrol car, and usually in high-crime parts of Albuquerque.
“It is truly an honor and a privilege to be able to accompany a police officer as they work their shift in the assigned beat,” Anderson said. “You see it all, from domestic violence, deadly traffic accidents, DUI, prostitution, junkies, welfare checks, use of force, gang activity, burglaries, assaults, shootings, homicides — you name it. All up close and personal and in real time, not pre-scripted, slickly edited media productions.”
Earlier in July, he accompanied Violence Intervention Program team members during a ride-along. Team members contact gang members and their families to offer social services resources to them.
“The purpose is to steer these folks away from committing violent acts by becoming productive citizens,” Anderson said. “The experiences were incredible and gave me a better understanding of law enforcement. In the last five years I have met and interacted with over 500 law enforcement officers, patrol officers, deputy sheriffs, U.S. marshals, state police, DEA and FBI agents.
“My officer contacts grow monthly," he said. "Their ages range from early 20s upward, both male and female. I admire and respect all of these fine individuals.”
He said regardless of their age and experience, they all have several traits in common, including facing potential danger every shift.
“The overwhelming majority of these individuals are incredible citizens, have families and have a genuine desire to make our environment safer,” Anderson said. “They are not out on patrol purposely violating civil rights of citizens, as some so-called social justice groups and others would have you to believe.”
He said the defund the police movement, which has faded from most municipal debates, is “total nonsense” in his view.
“The goal of these folks is to dismantle law enforcement, period,” Anderson said. “The trendy slogan is to reimagine policing. BS, in other words, totally destroy the rule of law and the folks involved in enforcing same.”
He also regrets that law enforcement officers are at times treated like criminal suspects.
“I have witnessed this firsthand during use-of-force investigations," Anderson said. "A reasonable person supports fair police reform but not witch hunts. Choosing law enforcement as a career is becoming more difficult by the day. The recruitment and retention of law enforcement officers is not just a local problem but a national one.”
He sees only one answer, which is, “Law-abiding citizens must support law enforcement folks. Our public safety depends on it.”
Anderson offered a disclaimer about his tour with the police.
“My comments observations are my own based on my own experiences with law enforcement and not necessarily those of groups that I am associated with,” he said.
Anderson is retired after working as a multi-regulatory agency compliance officer and auditor for behavioral health and acute care health facilities statewide. He also worked as a broadcast and wireless telecommunications systems engineer in both domestic and international markets and is the former vice president of a wireless internet company that had internet systems in the Empire State Building and the World Trade Center buildings before Sept. 11, 2001.
“I’m looking forward to my next ride-along,” Anderson said. “I highly recommend every citizen do a police ride-along. Experience what police officers go through daily. It is truly an eye-opener.”