New Mexico State Police Chief Needs To Read The Constitution

An article that appears in the Albuquerque Journal caught my attention.

It is the New Mexico State Police Chief Tim Johnson's response to comments made by Mayor Martin Hicks of Grants. Hicks is a Democrat, by the way.

In the article:

Hicks, whose town has 10 COVID-19 positive cases according to state data, made the comments in an interview published by the Associated Press last week.

“We are going to stop Lujan Grisham and her Gestapo,” referring to the secret police of Nazi Germany, the AP reported.

There's one notable section that raised my ire:

Johnson said citizens shouldn’t be directed by elected officials to violate laws or jeopardize the public’s health, referring to the Hicks’ statements that nonessential businesses would be opened Monday in violation of the governor’s public health order. 

“This puts both the citizens and my officers in a very difficult and unnecessary position. A position that has the potential to create terrible relationships not only right now during this pandemic, but on the back end of this.” 

Johnson also bristled at the mayor’s announcement that businesses and citizens of Grants should call 911 if State Police show up at their places of business to enforce the public health order. 

“Reading between the lines, this is an attempt to now pit the local police departments against the State Police. This plan will undoubtedly tie up critical emergency resources, and more importantly has the potential to create frictions between boots on the ground officers whom the public expects to work as collaboratively as possible to protect them.”

The Mayor is allowing businesses in the city to open tomorrow and there are indications that the governor is going to send the State Police there to close them down.

There is no argument that the State Police as well as other law enforcement agencies are there to protect and serve the people and enforce the law. But the executive lockdown orders by the governor are not laws. What laws would be violated, Chief?  Executive Orders by the governor are intended to affect state agencies, not the people themselves. To govern by fiat or whim, is not what the U.S. Constitution allows or intends. Otherwise, we just may has well have a dictator. That is called tyranny.

Hicks isn't "directing" people to "violate laws", it is up to the business owner to reopen or not to. It is also up to individual citizens to go shop at any given place or not to. You know what that's called, Chief? It's called FREEDOM.

If the State Police shows up to close a so-called "non-essential" business and threatens them with fines or arrest for exercising their freedoms, small wonder they would be referred to as a Gestapo.

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