Posted: 01/14/2009 10:58:24 PM MST Editor:
I am amazed that we, the citizens of Farmington, have to constantly read about all the bad cops working for the Farmington Police Department, even though they have numerous past and present criminal allegations and civil lawsuits filed against them. Who knows of all the other allegations that we as citizens are not allowed to read about, since the city of Farmington denies requests to inspect public records on police officers. How convenient.
The officer I am speaking of this time is Mike Briseno. His latest bad-cop episode resulted in his being placed on "paid" administrative leave for assaulting a male 17-year-old minor and his mother at their home while he was "off duty." The San Juan County sheriff's office said the assault charges against him were warranted. Even when these bad cops do what they do, they continue to be "paid."
That's unbelievable, considering what Briseno's past record has been. Let's see, in 1997, Briseno was investigated on 22 allegations of police misconduct while working for the Bloomfield Police Department which, incidentally, came after 200 citizens signed and filed a petition to the Bloomfield Police Department.
In 2003, Briseno was accused of arresting a local citizen, Chester Mitchell, without probable cause and entering the citizen's home without a search warrant. In November 2004, Briseno and five other Farmington Police Department officers were named in a civil lawsuit, accused of police brutality on a local citizen,
Juan Mata. In October of this year, Briseno was accused of assaulting a nurse at San Juan Regional.
That's quite a rap sheet for a police officer who has only been working for Farmington's finest for six years, isn't it? How much longer is the Farmington Police Department going to continue to employ and tolerate this kind of behavior from its police officers?
Well, citizens of Farmington, there you have it. You get to start the new year with the knowledge that another bad cop was allowed to be employed by the Farmington Police Department to "serve and protect" us.
GINO MARTINEZ
Farmington (AZ -psusa)