Nov. 21--The Santa Fe Police Department has reached well beyond its walls to hire a first-of-a-kind "professional standards captain," who will oversee internal affairs.
Police Chief Ray Rael said Patrick Gallagher, the Truth or Consequences police chief for the past three years, has accepted the job, which will have a starting salary of about $87,000.
Gallagher worked for the New York City Police Department for 23 years, serving as the deputy inspector. Rael said Gallagher's experience with NYPD and his role in its Internal Affairs Division made him qualified for the position in Santa Fe's much smaller police department.
Since becoming chief last year, Rael has advocated for having a captain in charge of professional standards, specifically one with no connections within the department. Rael said in previous years, complaints were voiced that internal investigations "have taken too long, not been objective and have been biased."
"This is one of the ways I thought we would fix those problems," Rael said.
In addition to internal affairs, Gallagher will be in charge of accreditation and some training, Rael said. The Santa Fe Police Department hasn't been accredited with the New Mexico Law Enforcement Accreditation Program for about two years. Becoming accredited again, Rael said, will ensure the department is up to standards and help with insurance and liability costs.
The president of the Police Officers Association union, Adam Gallegos, expressed some "concern" with the hire this week. Gallegos said it may be a risk to hire outside of the department because the new employee doesn't know the "policy, procedure, past practice and department tradition."
In 2011, Gallagher was the subject of a KRQE-TV investigation about his reported order to sell about 87 old guns from the police evidence room in Truth or Consequences. The gun auction raised about $10,400 for the department, but the KRQE investigation said Gallagher didn't follow state law in disposing of the weapons -- by contacting the gun's previous owners or seeking an order from a district judge authorizing disposal.
Rael said the KRQE report was considered during the hiring process, but that subsequent investigations by the Law Enforcement Academy determined "no misconduct, no ethical violations and no criminal charges were ever filed." Rael said his understanding of the investigation was that Gallagher simply didn't know the New Mexico statute prior to selling the weapons, since he had come from out of state. "It was evident that it was simply a mistake," Rael said.
Gallagher is scheduled to begin his Santa Fe job on Monday, Nov. 26.
Contact Nico Roesler at 986-3089 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @nicoroesler.
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