A coup goes awry in Carrizozo - Ruidoso News

Ah...isn't it the Sheriffs department job to answer 911 calls?

There are rumors that there are tapes on this 911 call. Can we all listen to them at the next meeting so we can decide? Is it not public record to listen to the tapes? Let us decide if it was a conspiracy. Let the citizens of Carrizozo listen to the tape and decide if the trustees made a bad decision and jumped the gun. We shouldn't have to have closed meetings and not hear the tape. That tape is public record. Let the public hear it.

Oh naive one:

All 911 calls go to the Sheriff's department because that is where the 911 center and dispatch is. The dispatches then disseminate the calls to the proper agency depending what and where the call is. Fire, EMS, or law enforcement or any combination of those.

When the call comes from within the town of Carrizozo (or Capitan) they first locate or call an officer from that municipality. When an officer(s) is not available for whatever reason, or needs backup, or can't be reached etc., then the call goes to a deputy of the Sheriff Department or sometimes state police.

The tape isn't going reveal anything about the Edward Vega incident except Charlie LaBelle's sorry attitude when he took the dispatch call. Everybody with a scanner that was listening heard that.

That incident only was a catalyst to the events that followed. The conspiracy, if you want to dignify it with a name, isn't on a tape anywhere. It went on for months between trustees and perhaps even before they were trustees, since two of three just got into office.

Look at the bigger picture, not the bird in the hand they keep pointing to.

The trustees did not stop to think of the repercussions of their actions. However the will of the people was clear during the last election. These trustees were voted in. Make them do the job but let's not have a board that is all political appointees. That would simply hand the power over to the mayor and we will have more of the discontent his refusal to clean city hall has created. He also was a fill in appointee, not elected. How about new elections?

Ok, you seem to know about the rules of how the sheriffs deptarment works. Is it public record to get a tape. Call me naive, but I do hear tapes all the time on the news. Why can't we listen to it in the meeting? I don't have a scanner. So I didn't hear it. Thats why I would like to with everyone else that didn't hear it. You obviously heard the tape. Why can't we. We're talking about this incident. Not others. I want to know why a deputy had to go instead of our own police. Was it more important to do shooting than answer a 911 call? Thats all I want to know and hear. This call brought out all this. I think we should go from there and see what other happenings lead up to this. Why can't we listen to the tape?

Since you know how it works, can I go get a copy of the tape? How do you go about that? Then can I let others listen to it? I just want to know what was said and what happend. Do I have to go to the Sheriffs office to get it and how much does it cost?

Police have to do day qualification shoots and night qualification shoots at the range. If the Carrizozo police were with an instructor from Santa Fe to get their qualification, the sheriff's office can answer the dispatch. It doesn't matter if it was a Vega or someone else. For them to drop what they are doing just because it was a Vega is just more of the same "I'm Carrizozo royalty" crap. If a deputy was not available, that is another story.

The word at the meeting, the dispatcher didn't know they were out shooting. And is qualifying more important than a 911 call? wouldn't the instuctor from santa fe think it was more important and could wait or come back? Are there not other instructors in Lincoln County that can work around their time? Who shoots with Ruidoso Police and the sheriffs departments? Do they only use out of town instructors?

And evidence, that supposively is on the tape they didn't know. I think there is more than one tape. I don't think it will cost you anything to go get that tape and hear that. The number one priority is the town. Not shooting. They weren't that far away were they couldn't go on a 911 call in their town. Now, if they already made arrangements for the sheriffs department to take calls while they were out shooting, then that is different. But, they didn't know from what I hear. Lack of communication on the police side. Not the other departments side. Did state police know to help out it they were busy? Some said they take calls here too. Cover your bases to make sure the town is covered.

I would like to know what the other carrizozo police officers think of all of this.

You'll have to ask the sheriff's office about listening to the tape. I would guess it is public record, but I don't know that. There are some privacy issues involved I'm sure. And no, I have not heard it.

I just love it when citizens who know nothing about law enforcement and how it works, decide that they can decide how it should be or what should be done, with absolutely no clue as to how it really is. Their opinion is their deciding factor.

The point is, there was a sheriff's deputy right there in Carrizozo to answer the call.

KATIE wrote:

The point is, there was a sheriff's deputy right there in Carrizozo to answer the call.

Wasn't the deputy on another call when this one came in? Doing a sheriffs department call. Not carrizozos. The point is, no one knew where carrizozos police were. If they knew, there would of been no problem. There are deputies and state police in town all the time. Should we just give them all the calls? What are we paying our police for if we don't even know where they are?

zozorezie wrote:

The word at the meeting, the dispatcher didn't know they were out shooting. And is qualifying more important than a 911 call? wouldn't the instuctor from santa fe think it was more important and could wait or come back? Are there not other instructors in Lincoln County that can work around their time? Who shoots with Ruidoso Police and the sheriffs departments? Do they only use out of town instructors?
And evidence, that supposively is on the tape they didn't know. I think there is more than one tape. I don't think it will cost you anything to go get that tape and hear that. The number one priority is the town. Not shooting. They weren't that far away were they couldn't go on a 911 call in their town. Now, if they already made arrangements for the sheriffs department to take calls while they were out shooting, then that is different. But, they didn't know from what I hear. Lack of communication on the police side. Not the other departments side. Did state police know to help out it they were busy? Some said they take calls here too. Cover your bases to make sure the town is covered.
I would like to know what the other carrizozo police officers think of all of this.

It has always been a matter of professional courtesy that officers cover for each other during range qualifications or training. If the deputy on duty just a few block away hadn't been lolly gagging, all would still not be well. the point is not who responded the point is a group of people with an agenda to oust the chief. If the point had been to embarrass the sheriffs office, that would have been the focus. I find it amazing that the sheriffs office has been strangely silent about the events of that night and the roll they have played in this whole drama.

KATIE wrote:

The point is, there was a sheriff's deputy right there in Carrizozo to answer the call.

Thats right and labelle was the one who took 17 minutes to respond. The call also came from the conoco station that this guy had run into a car and walk away. From the conoco to vegas is at leasst a mile and half. Add it all up and you will see it is a setup

There was ALSO another deputy in the Sheriff's office at the time, doing paperwork. No shortage that night. So check the facts, did you miss that one?

KATIE wrote:

<quoted text>
It has always been a matter of professional courtesy that officers cover for each other during range qualifications or training. If the deputy on duty just a few block away hadn't been lolly gagging, all would still not be well. the point is not who responded the point is a group of people with an agenda to oust the chief. If the point had been to embarrass the sheriffs office, that would have been the focus. I find it amazing that the sheriffs office has been strangely silent about the events of that night and the roll they have played in this whole drama.

Again, if they didn't know they were out shooting, how do they know to send someone? Wouldn't it been common courtesy to let them know? Then maybe, none of this would of been an issue. No one knew where they were.

SKIDROW wrote:

<quoted text>
Thats right and labelle was the one who took 17 minutes to respond. The call also came from the conoco station that this guy had run into a car and walk away. From the conoco to vegas is at leasst a mile and half. Add it all up and you will see it is a setup

A set up? You mean they knew this guy was going over to vegas? This was all planned. Get real.

They knew ... she told dispatch by phone where she was and what she was doing and why she couldn't take the call.

Quit making crap up!

You mean they knew before the call, or when they called her to go to it? Because if they knew before the call came in...different story. Clarify that one. Big difference if they knew before hand.

Thats the point I'm getting at. Did the dispatch know where they were before the call came in? If not, why weren't they told?

This night at the Vega's wasn't planned, the conspiracy to get rid of Spencer most definitely was planned. This is why it is so lame. Laying in wait for a good person makes for a mighty long wait. Why did the trustee's resend the firing if they were on such solid ground? It's nitpicking because they got tired of waiting for something really good. How come none of you are firing on the sheriffs office? Because they are not the point. The point is to remove good law enforcement so the usual suspects can stand down and resume their illegal activities in the light of day. Those of you that are after chief Spencer are being dishonest and petty and it shows.

zozorezie wrote:

You mean they knew before the call, or when they called her to go to it? Because if they knew before the call came in...different story. Clarify that one. Big difference if they knew before hand.
Thats the point I'm getting at. Did the dispatch know where they were before the call came in? If not, why weren't they told?

WHY is it a big difference? You clarify it.

They make it a big difference because they have nothing else. . . . . . . .

I've lived in Lincoln Co most of my life and have never known a police response to be quick. Living in a rural area I've always kind of expected it to take awhile for them to cover one of the largest counties in the state. I'd say 17-19 minutes is pretty darn good personally.