So, if you drive South from Santa Fe on US 285, after a couple of hours, you’ll come across the small railroad town of Vaughn. With a population of only about 500, it has a police force of two humans and one dog. Apparently, however, neither of the human police officers are not certified, meaning that they can not arrest people or carry guns. Why aren’t they certified? Well, the police chief was convicted of a felony in Texas for failure to pay child support, while the other officer was convicted of domestic violence.
That leaves the German Shepherd, Nikka, as the only qualified member of the force.
What the hell is going on, you ask?
Here’s a little vignette (from this article) to give you a flavor of how things work in Vaughn:
After a recent Vaughn Town Council meeting, News 13’s Larry Barker asked Councilor Richard Gallegos about [Police Chief Chris] Armijo’s criminal record. At the time, Armijo, who is also a town councilor, was sitting next to Gallegos.
“Are you aware of some problems with the police department?” Barker asked Gallegos.
“No,” Gallegos said.
“You’re not aware of any problems with the police department?”
“Not at this point officially, no.”
“Nobody ever told you that your chief of police sitting next to you … is a convicted felon?”
“No.”
“You didn’t know that?”
“(Shakes head) … I’d rather get it straight from the mouth.”
“OK, well why don’t you ask him? He’s sitting right next to you,” Barker said.
“When the times comes, I will,” Gallegos said.
Obviously this was a gotcha question from lamestream media flack. What’s more, Larrry “Barker” clearly has a conflict of interest in the case, and is obviously just going to take Nikka’s side.
When mayor Paul Madrid was asked if the dog was still working, he responded, “Right today it doesn’t have no use, no.” The mayor also said, “Nothing makes sense to me anymore . . . I don’t know beyond today … if we will ever have a police officer here again or not. I have no idea because the town cannot afford what’s required of the State of New Mexico or the federal boys.”
All mayors should talk like this.
Last Friday, the police received a noise complaint at 734 Magnolia Street at 11:34 pm. The responding officer reported that all the butts smelled okay, and that the tree in the front yard was now property of the Vaughn Police Department.