Cops Draw Guns on Sandoval Sheriff

By Rozanna M. Martinez

Copyright � 2010 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer On one side, more than six State Police and Albuquerque police officers, some with their weapons drawn. On the other side, Sandoval County Sheriff John Paul Trujillo. The showdown played out on an Albuquerque street Thursday morning after a State Police officer reported seeing Trujillo in an SUV tailgating and speeding up to 90 mph hour in a construction zone on Interstate 25 and later running a red light. A check of the California license plate led State Police to believe the SUV might be stolen, and they called for backup; it turns out it was a county vehicle used for undercover work, hence the California license plates. The incident ended peacefully without arrest and without a citation being issued, though State Police are still investigating. Trujillo, meanwhile, disputes the officers' accusations and said he was racially profiled because of the California plates. State Police spokesman Lt. Eric Garcia said that, after a check showed the plates were registered to a Honda out of Rio Rancho, State Police called for more officers to come to the area. Albuquerque police assisted in locating the Expedition, which eventually exited I-25 at Alameda. A marked State Police car later got behind the Expedition on Alameda at San Mateo, and the officer turned on the car's lights and sirens. At that time, the Expedition proceeded through a red light and pulled to the shoulder of Alameda, and Trujillo turned on the SUV's police lights. State Police considered it a felony stop because, among other factors, they suspected that the Expedition might have been stolen. Four State Police units and two Albuquerque police units pulled behind the Expedition, and officers, some with guns drawn, ordered Trujillo to get out. After about three to four minutes, he jumped out and walked to a State Police supervisor, who recognized him to be Sandoval County Sheriff Trujillo, according to State Police. State Police say that Trujillo's driver's side window was open and presume that he heard police commands for him to exit, but that he did not leave the vehicle immediately. "He had plenty of opportunity to ... identify himself as a police officer," Garcia said of Trujillo. In an interview with the Journal, Trujillo said he could not have been speeding due to heavy traffic congestion on I-25 in the construction zone, and he also denied tailgating a pickup. He said State Police "racially profiled" him because of his California plates and questioned why State Police did not pull him over immediately if he was committing traffic violations. Trujillo said he saw the State Police officer's car with its lights and sirens on at Alameda and San Mateo. He wanted to get out of her way and had to proceed through the red light to do so. He said he immediately pulled over but did not immediately exit the car. "I stayed in the vehicle; they were doing a felony stop. I wasn't going to make any sudden moves," Trujillo said. He said he could not hear police until they used a PA system to give commands. Trujillo said he was inside the Expedition for about a minute before he got out and said his driver's side window was up until he put it down to hear what police were saying. "I didn't do anything wrong; (the State Police officer's) dashcam will show that," Trujillo said. Trujillo said he was in the area looking for a motorcycle crash that occurred about 9 the night before. He said the crash occurred on the Bernalillo-Sandoval County line, and he went to the area to generate an accident report. Sandoval County regional dispatch spokesman John Francis confirmed that Trujillo called the dispatch center at 10:17 a.m. Thursday regarding the accident and that Trujillo was given an accident report number. State Police say they have no record of a motorcycle accident in that area. Trujillo was not charged Thursday, though the case remains under investigation. This is not the first time Trujillo has been the center of controversy. � In April, the widow of Sandoval County sheriff's Sgt. Joe Harris, who was killed in the line of duty, filed a police report against Trujillo claiming that he berated and bullied her at a Rio Rancho Walmart. Trujillo told the Journal at the time that he spoke with Tonia Harris, but never bullied her nor acted in an aggressive manner. � In February 2009, Adam Oliver filed a report with Albuquerque police claiming that a Ford Explorer driven by Trujillo pulled behind him on Paseo del Norte at Jefferson and did not wait for Oliver to turn. Trujillo allegedly drove over the right shoulder, barely missing Oliver's Jeep. The issue continued at a nearby Circle K, and Oliver claims in the report tha...

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• sandoval
• county
• sheriff
• pulled
• over
• state
• police

[pntballrokr]

skip to 9:58 that's the best part

[amzuel420]

This one of the stupidest videos I've seen on youtube so far.

[death2xela]

give me my license biach1!!!!

[maggie6006]

GO F>>> Yourself

[inDpendant]

no ones above the law............them some good cops!

[Jonfocus03]

SHITTY AUDIO!!!!

[MrSnipes206]

BOOO this man!!!!  booooooooo

[ZanyIntellect]

i just think its amazing that there are all up 4 police vehicles. Two at least we know have dashcam and audio, yet we hear bugger all about anything.

[hkk313]

Note to self; always read the comments for clue on how shitty a vid is before spending 10 min. watching it.

[TEDOVSKY]

@TEDOVSKY You are right, some crooks DO have access to databases but apart from small towns where everybody knows where the cops live, any search of a "cloudy tag"in a database will just hit "Contact the relevant sheriff/police agency" . . . .

[TEDOVSKY]

@disorganizedorg If cops are going to take the trouble to "cloud the issue" as to their tags then obviously they're gonna make it "not so easy" for the drug-dealers to find out where they live. Cops are forever pulling over cars when their check has NOT failed and they are suspicious to say the least, however when they realise its a cop with a "cloudy tag"they immediately switch off and the cop who got stopped is on his or her way again. Why? Because most of them DO THE SAME with their tags.

[disorganizedorg]

@sn9696 It happens a lot, and every time it happens it needs to be raised at trial as a source of reasonable doubt.