1

Ryan Sheldon
Ms. Larsen
English 120
2/12/15
Cover Letter
I rather enjoyed writing this paper as it allowed me to use the premises
from my other papers, which did make things easier. Now as far as general
planning for the paper went I used my arguments from LSA1 and put them
against the counterarguments from LSA2. The first counter argument was
that there was an increase in Albuquerque Police Department violence
because of the high crime rate in Albuquerque. But I challenged this with the
fact that our fatal shooting rates were still higher than those in other cities
with high crime rates. I also included examples of officers who regularly used
lethal violence were being promoted in the Police Department. This showed
that while the Albuquerque Police Department might not be encouraging
these actions, they are definitely not disciplining them. This challenges the
respectability of the Police Department and gives any arguments I make in
the future of the essay more credibility.
The second counterargument is that fear of not only your own life but
also the fear of your comrades lives might cause the police officers to take
actions they may not have normally taken. This is actually a really good
argument because it calls on the officers wanting to protect their comrades,
which in most cases is the favorable option. But I challenged this by pointing
out that officers must put their citizens lives before their own. They have a
responsibility to the citizens, and since my audience is the citizens of
Albuquerque, I felt that this would pull them in my favor. This is also where I
start to put police officers on a pedestal so that the reader will start to hold
the police to higher standards than they normally would. By regularly calling
for police to be role models and pointing out the responsibility that they carry
the reader will start to be more critical of any mistakes made by officers.
The next counterargument was also a very good one, as it describes
actual physical responses in the body, which are very hard to overcome. But
this is where me putting officers on a pedestal earlier in my essay really
comes to help. With the reader already expecting more of officers it makes it
easier for me to call them out on their mistakes. And so I first argue against
this by pointing out that a requirement for officers is to be able to handle

themselves in stressful situations. I then state that an officer losing his cool
in a dangerous situation could get innocent civilians killed, which again will
hopefully cause some small amount of fear in the audience, which will put
them against the police. I also describe stress as an excuse, which is a
word with a negative connotation. People see those who use excuses and
irresponsible and weak.
The research for this paper was rather easy to find since this is such a
controversial issue in these times. There were many articles on various
shootings that had happened and also on the overall quality of crime in
Albuquerque. While many of these articles were biased one way or another I
was able to gleam many good facts from them. I used these mostly for
details of the shooting and also for crime rates in Albuquerque and these
compared to other cities. I also used police websites for information on police
training and requirements, as this helped me to attack the stress
counterargument, and then also one on the effects of a Taser as I could use
this to show that police have a non-fatal way of incapacitating someone. I
also took the various comments that were made on my LSA1 when it was
graded in hopes of helping my paper. Through many rereading of both this
paper and my previous ones I was also able to help my paper in other ways.

Ryan Sheldon
Ms. Larsen
English 120
2/12/15
Hero or Villain
A police officer puts his life on the line every time he or she goes out
for work in the morning. But we must remember that its not only the police
officers who are in danger. Albuquerque police were involved in more fatal
police shootings than many other cities of its size, many of which Federal
Investigators found to be unreasonable and a violation of constitutional
rights. This has caused the mayor to work with the police force to take the
department in a new direction with a new focus on control in hope that this
will help restrain the officers and keep the number of shootings down. These
actions need to be implemented to help keep the citizens our police are
supposed to be protecting safe.
The crime rate in Albuquerque is 53% higher than the national
average, and has been described as a place where we struggle with drug
epidemics, extreme drought, hunger, drunk driving, gun violence (New
Mexicos gun-death rate is 40% higher than the national average), and a
corrupt police force (Carey). These conditions play a big part in what the
Albuquerque Police Department have to face during their profession, and

some believe it helps to account for the violence police have shown in the
past against certain perpetrators. The additional violence the Albuquerque
police face in their daily life can lead them to taking more violent actions to
protect themselves and their citizens. But many other large cities have high
crime rates, and Albuquerque still has higher fatal shootings by police than
these cities. A police officers job is to first and foremost protect the citizens.
But we have found that the police are doing just the opposite. Using
aggressive violence against non-dangerous criminals, even against those
that are unarmed. Sergeant Wallace was promoted to the Albuquerque Police
Officers Associations executive board as an advisor for the Albuquerque
Police Department. Sergeant Wallace shot his third unarmed assailant in
2011. The assailant, 22 year old Alan Gomez, did not survive the incident.
And Wallace is not the only officer to have used unnecessary aggressive
force. The Albuquerque Police Department was put under investigation by
the Department of Justice due to its long history of violence. There are
obvious problems in our police force, and we need to accept the actions that
have been suggested to us not only by our mayor but by the Department of
Justice. (Carey)
Fear is a driving force for many actions we take throughout our lives,
with fear for our life being a stronger force than most others. And so some
believe it is understandable for the Albuquerque Police to use possibly deadly
force in situation where they feel there life might be threatened. This can be
shown in the relatively recent police shooting of homeless man James Boyd.

While at first the public was outraged at the incident, the Albuquerque Police
Department soon released the video of the incident, which went a long way
in taking the blame off the police. The video shows the shooting of Boyd, but
also shows how he threatened and pulled knives on the police Canine Officer.
And it was not actually the Canine Officer who shot Boyd, but actually two of
his fellow officers. They saw that their friend and comrade was in possible
danger and took actions to protect him, which in of itself is a very justifiable
act. While we sometimes choose willingly to take risks with our own lives, it
is much harder to take risks with the lives of friends and loved ones. In this
situation, almost anyone would choose to kill the possibly dangerous criminal
than to allow their friend and comrade to die. This is why many believe this
to be a reason of why the Albuquerque Police Department has had a record
of violent arrests. But the fact remains that there were other options they
could take instead of lethal force. There were police officers with Tasers on
the scene, which even after repeated shocks, the assailant may be
exhausted but not permanently harmed(Effects of Stun). A police officers
job is a dangerous one. They have to face possibly dangerous criminals every
day. But it is an officers job to worry about the safety of others before the
safety of themselves. When a mistake on your part can cause the loss of life,
you need to do your very best to not make mistakes. And so officers must
make the correct choice. They carry a huge responsibility on their shoulders,
a responsibility to protect the citizens of Albuquerque. And if they constantly

make mistakes that end others lives, then they are failing to uphold that
responsibility. (APD)
Stress can affect the body in many ways. The rush of adrenaline and
apparent sharpening of focus are not always helpful in making sound
decisions, and the job of a police officer is most definitely very stressful. We
are not ourselves when we are in stressful situations, and we can make
decisions that we will not normally make. And while the Albuquerque Police
Department does try and prepare its officers for these high-stress situations
with training, nothing can truly prepare one to face a life or death situation.
And so some believe many actions taken by the police can be attributed to
them being in high stress situations where they may not be in the right state
of mind to be making life or death decisions. The state your mind is in during
these situations can resemble a reptiles more than a humans (Police Chief
Magazine). We turn more animalistic in these high-stress situations and are
more prone to act and respond rather than think on what to do. But this
cannot exonerate the Albuquerque Police Department for its actions. When
you agree to take on the responsibility of being a police officer you agree to
protect the citizens of Albuquerque, even if that means putting your life on
the line. Police Officers are trained to be able to handle themselves
efficiently and effectively in stressful situations. A general requirement to
even apply to be a police officer is to be able to both maintain composure
and perform effectively in stressful situations and exercise good judgment
(Police and Law Enforcement). They are not allowed to let the stress of the

situation affect them, for they need to be at their best when most are at their
worst. They hold both a power and responsibility every time they put on their
uniform, and if they allow themselves to give in to the stress then they may
put lives in danger. Stress should never be used as an excuse for an officer,
because as an officer stress is a daily part of their lives.
The Albuquerque Police Department stands for peace and justice in our
city, but if even they are disrupting the peace then who can we look to? Our
police force is held to a higher standard than the average populace, and are
often looked to as role models. They must show themselves as upstanding
and responsible officers. But incidents like the one with Boyd do not give off
this image. The job of the police force is to protect the citizens, but they have
a second job that is not written on any document. They are the best of the
best, and we look to them to be role models in our community. . A police
officers uniform is not just something they wear, it symbolizes courage,
commitment, and honor. The courage to do what needs to be done, a
commitment to the city they were asked to protect, and the honor to do what
is right. These actions the Department of Justice have asked to be
implemented will work towards making our police department better, safer,
and more responsible. People look to our police department to find the best
of our city, we do not want them to find the worst.

Works Cited
"APD: Officer Involved Shooting Was Justified." KRQE News 13. N.p., 21 Mar.
2014. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
Carey, Madeleine. "Albuquerque Really Is Like Breaking Bad | TIME.com."
Ideas Albuquerque

Really Is Like Breaking Bad Comments. N.p.,

27 Sept. 2013. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.

"Effects of Stun Guns." Effects of Stun Guns. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2015.

"Police Chief Magazine - View Article." Police Chief Magazine - View Article.
N.p., n.d. Web. 03 Feb. 2015.
"Police and Law Enforcement General Job Requirements." Real Police. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Feb. 2015