I as an American citizen, have paid my taxes from the hard earned time and money that I put into my daily work as an employee, and it's always a pleasure to know that it will be used for good causes in our Country, State and City. HOWEVER it is it extremely unsatisfactory when that hard earned money is also suppost to support our Public Defenders, the local Police Department, the men and women who's duty is to "Serve and Protect" us, but the job requirments ARE NOT BEING MET!
Today, my son and my daughter were riding their bikes on the sidewalk of our residental street in which we live, and a lady backed out of her drive way without looking and knocked my daughter off of her bike. Thankfully my little girl is ok and no serious harm came to her past a bruise, but the woman got out of her car and asked my child if she was ok, felt she was ok according to her standards, re-entered her vehicle and just left without calling asking my children who their mother was, where they could reach me, or even contacting an officer. It is my understanding, that when you are in a collisian with another individual and a motor vehicle is involved, no matter what the damage is, you are required by law to contact the authorities, and failing to do so, is ILLEGAL!
My Children immediately came and told me what had happened. I checked my daughter out to see that she didn't have any serious injuries and questioned both of them on what had happened, and asked them, if the lady in question had asked either of them where they lived or offered to call an officer, to which they both said "No, She said, you scared me, you shouldn't be there! Are you hurt?" My daughter who is 7 years old replied she was ok, and that being satisfactory to the lady, accepted it for face value and drove away without any further responsable action. Once I had gotten the full story from both of my children seperately, I had my children show me where it had taken place, which was two drive ways down from the house we were located at. I then called the police to file a complaint.
Once the officer ( Office Roads) arrived she asked me briefly what was going on, as I explained to her, she cut me off mid sentance and then began questioning my son, and never once spoke to my daughter who was the victum , nor did she request to see if she had any marks or injury what so ever. She then asked where the incident took place and proceeded to the house to speak to the woman who had backed into my child. She returned after a few minutes with the Lady and the lady then bent down to my sons level and began to scold him. The office stood by and allowed this, and I interviened and told the woman not to speak to my child in such a manor, that I was their mother, and she could address me and I wanted to know WHY she had not taken the time to contact me or an officer when she struck my child. She proclaimed she spoke to the kids and felt they were ok and that was enough, to which I informed her that I was their mother and their well being and whether or not she was injured was for me to decide and NOT her. The officer than turned to me and told me that it was my resposability as their mother to watch where they played!
I became very upset because I knew exactly where they were! They were riding their bikes on the side walk, where else is a child suppost to ride a bike? They were not in the lady's drive way or in the street but riding one the sidewalk! It is to my knowlege that when you back out of your drive way you are to watch for pedistrians and children and that Pedistrians have the right of way over any motorvehicle!
I gave my children permission to ride their bike and because a woman who did not watch before she backed out of a private drive way to a public street passing over a public side walk, hit my child, the officer involved turned the issue around to be my fault and not the woman driving the car. When I stated that I am responsable for my children and I do know where they are at all times, and that it is the drivers responsability as a licensed motorist to watch as she backs out for on comming traffic and she was at fault for backing into my daughter and not contacting someone, the officer then changed the subject to " it is state requirment that they wear helmets". YES, it is, but nothing was being discussed over helmets, or whether or not they were wearing a helmet, nor had I or the children been asked if they were wearing helments, needless to say, the issue at hand was that the woman had backed out of her driveway , struck my child with her car and drove off without contacting anyone past my children.
I am very displeased at the nature of investigation and professionalism by the officer on the scene as well as the police department in general for overlooking such an incident. I am very upset at the fact, that the woman saw my daughter to be ok to her satisfactory and not mine. When someone is injured, there may not always be a phsycal mark and the point I was trying to get across was that what if the injury had been more severe and no one realized it, and my daughter, theoretically speaking, had an internal injury and had bleed to the point of death and we did not know about it until it was to late?
I am very upset at the fact that I made this complaint and it was looked upon as not being an issue! I am very upset that the blame was turned onto me by an officer of the law and not the woman who struck my child! I am extremely upset that when I said I wanted to file a complaint she said "I am not filing a report on this". I am upset that the officer made no efforts to begin recording the entire conversation until I became upset that nothing was being handled properly. I am extremely angry that the money we pay through our taxes is suppost to go to our Deptarment to "serve and protect" our community but it doesn't!
Instead of us, as Hobbsains feeling like we have rights as citizens and Americans and we feel protected and served, we feel harassed and controlled by members of our police department. There are so many serious crimes being committed in broad day light and nothing is done about it. But heaven forbid if you walk down the street in your own neighborhood to visit a friend , and an officer stops to ask why you're walking and where are you going, and proceeds to run your name and see in whats in your pockets because as you walked down the side walk you strolled with your hands in your pockets. Heaven forbid, you just cashed your paycheck and when he sees your money wants to know how you got that much cash and if he can see your paycheck stub to prove you didn't get that hard earned money from a drug deal! Yes, this happened to a friend of mine recently.
Instead of making sure a man who raped a woman on sleeping medications stays in jail for more than a week, the investigating officers made the victum feel like the felon by implying she was cheating on her husband and got caught, hense the rapist is out of jail after a week and a trial picking the victum apart over her sleeping medications.
Rather than listening to a mother who is concerned that her daughter is being molested and there fore calls and files a complaint so it is on record, they walk away without a report because their personal judgment is the parents are being vindictive over their divorce.
Instead of taking care of a call where a little kid is shooting plastic b-b's from a hand held b-b gun at another child over the fence, we have officers pulling us over because we passed Ma Brown's and took one to many right turns to circle the block and get back to the resturant. The officer then rights a ticket for making "Turning Manuvers". What is a "Turning Manuver" and how is it illegal to go around the block because you missed your original destination? Yes, this happened to another individual I know.
Instead of investigating and finger printing a car that was stolen so charges could be filed, the car was returned and nothing further was done about it. Thank you for returning my car to me, but it would have been wonderful for the car to have been processed and compared to the suspect we felt was responsable. Instead, nothing was done except the car returned and a name written down in a little note book.
Please explain to me and the rest of Hobbs, New Mexico how this is considered Protecting and Serving our Community?
Instead of pulling a car over who has just sped through a school zone, why are our officers pulling people over who pull into a convienant store, and then pull right back out after they see a sign on the door that says their closed, and in the process asks the passenger who has done no wrong, no more than the driver for exsiting the convienant store due to it being closed committed a crime, who they are and then because of their last name decides to run them through the system to see if they have warrents, just because a member in their family has had a record in the past. Isn't this considered harassment and throwing their weight around behind a badge? Yes, this happened to another person I know.
What ever happened to Innocent until proven guilty? Not Guilty by association!?
I, along with so many residents of Hobbs, are disgusted by the the way our Patrol officers do their jobs. We as a community are fed up with being harassed and pulled over for excuses to find a reason to write a ticket or give us a hard time, when there is plenty of serious business that needs to be handled and isn't.
Across the street where I live, the neighbors openly sit in the front yard in their vehicle and smoke pot, and nothing is ever done about it. My child gets backed into by a car on a public side walk and nothing is done about it! People fight and scream and hit their spouces in their front yards and nothing is done about it. Prostitutes openly walk our streets on Marland and drug deals are made at the City Park in broad day light and nothing is done about it. But make three right turns at designated stop signs to go back to the location you passed by mistake, walk down the street with your hands in your pockets, turn into a convienant store that is closed, or have the same last name as someone with a record and you are made to feel like a convicted felon and forced to pay a fine for "turning manuvers".
So I ask you, what do mine and everyone else's tax dollars go to? Why should I or my family and friends have to pay for this treatment, when we are the citizens that pay the tax money that pays the salary for those officers that spend their time and energy dealing with pointless and frivalous bolonge , when they could be focusing on performing their Duty as a public SERVANT and actually "Protect and Serve" our community, rather than focusing on meeting a quota!
I would like to commend those officers that do a fine job, I know of a few, Officer Engle and Officer Miller, Officer Mendoza have always been very polite and professional as well as a few other good men. But for the most part, all of the other officers I and other members of our community have had the displeasure of encountering over rediculous excuses to be pulled over, or not filing a report on a serious complaint, of meeting and dealing with ; it is of our opinion they are not doing their job to our standards as citizens who pay our taxes to support the lousey excuse of traffic patrole officers in Hobbs, New Mexico!!
I have sat by quietly over the last few years abiding by the laws and observing all of this and so much more than this letter has space for, and I have not said a word. Today I had my fill of the Grade A bull manuer that floods our patrol department of the HPD, when my daughter was backed into by a motor vehiclist and the driver left without contacting someone, and the officer did absolutely nothing about it.
Enough is Enough!
Rachel Hansen
