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Thursday, August 9, 2007

Edgewood Gets Top Cop

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
    Along with a new location, the State Police assigned to Edgewood also have a new commander.
    Sgt. Jonathan Salazar will head up State Police patrolling the town of Edgewood.
    "I have big shoes to fill," Salazar said of replacing Sgt. Kevin Bruno, who was reassigned to Albuquerque. "(Bruno) really did a lot of things with the council members and the city ... I look forward to working with (council members) as well."
    Bruno also helped move State Police into their new, 2,400-square-foot office, using his vacation days to do so. The office moved from N.M. 344 and Dinkle Road to Old Route 66, just west of N.M. 344. It now accommodates State Police who patrol both Edgewood and Moriarty.
    "Combining both offices is going to be really beneficial for the areas that we service," Salazar said.
    Salazar was assigned to Moriarty for a year before his recent reassignment to Edgewood.
    He also pointed out that the administrative assistant in the new office, Rebecca Anaya, is an employee of the town.
    "She's actually the backbone of our success in that office ... she's an employee of the town of Edgewood, but she works for us, with us," he said.
    State Police have a joint powers agreement to provide law enforcement service to Edgewood, which expires in 2008.
    It is an interim measure until the town has its own police department, but Salazar said State Police will retain a presence in Edgewood even after the town department is in place.
    The town appointed eight volunteers to a Department of Public Safety Committee, which is charged with helping to form the police department.
    The committee is chaired by Edgewood Town Councilor Glenn Felton and includes Town Administrator Jeff Condrey and Councilor Chuck Ring, a former police officer.
    Randy Irwin, chief of the New Mexico Mounted Patrol, and Harlan Lawson, the driving force behind Edgewood's business watch group, are also part of the committee. The business watch group patrols local commercial areas at night.
    Another member of the committee, Ernie Salcido, is also part of business watch. He took part in one of that group's successes: he spotted a suspected burglary attempt at the Family Dollar Store in Edgewood in June.
    Salcido drove by the store at 2 a.m. and shined his spotlight on three people, who fled the area.
    The information and items recovered from the scene were handed over to State Police, who are working on the case.
    Salcido, who retired from the Albuquerque Police Department in February, has worked in law enforcement for more than 20 years.
    He said he began his career in law enforcement with the police department in Sunland Park, near the Mexico border. At the time the department was in its infancy, he said.
    Salcido said he has also worked with the FBI, the district attorney's office and the Secret Service, and has been in a gang unit, drug enforcement and undercover operations.