More than a year after Albuquerque police were reprimanded for its "inappropriate" tweets targeting city officials, the department is under scrutiny once again.
On Monday, APD Director of Communications Gilbert Gallegos responded to former Sheriff of Bernalillo County Darren White's tweet criticizing the city's recent murder rates under Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina, claiming Albuquerque experienced 600 slayings over the past 6 ½ years.
"While the chief desperately tries to convince the public killings are declining, in the 12 years prior to this administration, there was 451 murders. Just 10 years ago (2014), the city experienced 30 killings," White wrote.
In the 6 1/2 years the mayor's been in office, there's been over 600 murders in ABQ. While the chief desperately tries to convince the public killings are declining, in the 12 years prior to this administration, there was 451 murders. Just 10 years ago (2014), the city… pic.twitter.com/wiOsexQrWI
— 🇺🇸 Sheriff Darren White (Ret.) 🇮🇪 🇺🇦 (@darrenPwhite) September 2, 2024
"You resigned during that administration. Why was that?" Gallegos responded, under the APD X account.
"Gilbert, while you [are] pounding martinis down behind the Tanoan gates, you might want to sit this one out..." former APD officer and current attorney Thomas Grover chimed.
"Bit defensive Tom? Why did Darren White resign?" Gallegos shot back.
On Tuesday, the city voiced its distaste for the online banter.
"You're dealing with a murder, people involved in a shooting, and you're going to have a p-----g match, if you will, over social media," city councilman Dan Champine said in part, according to KOAT. "... as a city councilor, I'm not going to just react to it and fly off the handle."
"You have to be better than that, really. That's what it comes down to. Know that you're a professional, and then everybody gets to speak their mind, and you take that with grace," he added.
In response, the mayor's office said it's "focused on big issues, we don't micromanage twitter banter. We support the department and their ability to push back on misinformation online," the outlet reported.
Chief Medina accused White and Grover of using their "positions to pursue a political agenda against APD."
Last year, council president Pat Davis said he would "work personally to defund that (Gallegos') position, to defund that account, and to prohibit the city from using Twitter in that way," in response to a series of "unacceptable" tweets.
