Khal Spencer, BCNM Board Member
League Cycling Instructor 1173
========================================================
Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales
Santa Fe City Council
City of Santa Fe
PO Box 909
Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909
PO Box 909
Santa Fe, NM 87504-0909
Dear Mayor Gonzales and Santa Fe City Council members:
The
Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico (BCNM) strongly opposes Eric Garcia
hire as Santa Fe Police Chief, and the following factual account will
show you why.
Lt.
Garcia has historically shown a level of willful ignorance of the
rights of bicyclists or at the very least, a lack of concern with
following established New Mexico bicycle law, and has also demonstrated
condescension towards the well-being of bicyclists. Such attitudes and
beliefs ill-suit the police chief of a city that prizes its League of
American Bicyclists “Silver Bicycle Friendly Community” ranking and will
likely create an uncaring or negatively prejudicial attitude toward
bicyclists on the police force.
An
example of Lt. Garcia’s stance on bicycling is that after Dr. Fronczak was killed while riding lawfully on a state bike route outside Las
Cruces (see attached article), Mr. Garcia blatantly blamed the victim.
"There's
an important message for bicyclists here," Garcia said. "It is
recommended that bicyclists visit their local bike stores for brochures
and information on recommended routes of travel, instead of riding on
open roadways."
I
(BCNM President Diane Albert) personally met with Lt. Garcia to discuss his wrong attitudes and
interpretation of NM law, yet he remained adamant in his stance that it
is unsafe for bicyclists to travel on public roadways. Here is another
Garcia quote from D’Val Westphal’s “Road Warrior” column (attached):
“Garcia
says he has told cyclists that what they are doing is dangerous,
hazardous, that they must yield right of way to vehicles unless they are
in a designated bike lane, and they simply can not impede traffic.”;
We
recognize that you have already offered Lt. Garcia the job and he has
accepted. BCNM respectfully asks that the Mayor and Councilors fully
explore Lt. Garcia’s stance on bicyclists’ rights and his knowledge and
understanding of New Mexico law in a public venue that would be open to
bicyclists and bicyclist supporters.
Very Truly Yours,
Diane E. Albert, PhD
President and Board Member, Bicycle Coalition of New Mexico (BCNM)
League of American Bicyclists LCI #2292
Greater Albuquerque Bicyclists Advisory Committee member
League of American Bicyclists National Board Member
2 comments:
Any word from the mayor on how the new police chief is going to start following the law?
So far as I know, no one in city government has acknowledged receiving the letter.
Have to admit I was not following the full list of finalists, but I don't live in Santa Fe. When we had a new chief candidate here, I emailed the Ohio Bike Federation to see if he had any bones to pick with cyclists. The OBF folks said not as far as they knew.
This really should have been a ball that the Santa Fe cycling community picked up and ran with. Not sure if they weighed in, but I never saw anything.
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