END UP WITH A ROGUE
POLICE DEPARTMENT OF
MORE THAN 100
OFFICERS?
TONIGHT, NEWS 13
INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER
LARRY BARKER HAS THE
RESULTS OF A TWO MONTH
INVESTIGATION... WHO )S
PLAYING
COP?.
Rehm: "It )s kind of like
going back to the Wild
West." Fulginiti: "When
I first looked at it I
went oh my God."
Kassetas: "It makes
absolutely no sense.
It )s dangerous. It )s
inexcusable."
TO THE CASUAL OBSERVER,
THIS IS JUST A
PICTURESQUE
VILLAGE 30 MILES SOUTH
OF ROSWELL. BUT BEHIND
THE SCENES THERES
SOMETHING TERRIBLY WRONG
IN LAKE ARTHUR NEW
MEXICO.
POPULATION 430.
Barker: "The focus of
our investigation is on
the Police Department.
Now, (officially ( Lake
Arthur doesn )t really
have a police
department. The village
pays volunteer cops 20
bucks a year to
occasionally write
speeding tickets."
BUT A NEWS 13
INVESTIGATION FINDS
(UNOFFICIALLY ( LAKE
ARTHUR HAS AMASSED AN
UNDERGROUND POLICE FORCE
WITH
MORE THAN 100 GUN TOTING
OFFICERS ON ITS ROSTER.
NONE OF THEM LIVE
IN LAKE ARTHUR. IN FACT,
MOST DON )T EVEN LIVE IN
NEW MEXICO.
FOR EXAMPLE, LAKE ARTHUR
POLICE SGT. COME
CHANTREL LIVES IN
CALIFORNIA.
SGT. JONATHON GOURLEY
LIVES IN COLORADO. AND
SGT. DUANE LIPTAK
LISTS A TEXAS ADDRESS.
ITS A SCHEME COOKED UP
BY LAKE ARTHUR )S
VOLUNTEER POLICE CHIEF
WILL NORWOOD. OUR
INVESTIGATION
FINDS NORWOOD PASSED OUT
AUTHENTIC LOOKING POLICE
CREDENTIALS TO SCORES OF
FRIENDS, ASSOCIATES AND
CELEBRITIES ACROSS THE
COUNTRY. BILL FUGINITI
HEADS UP THE NEW MEXICO
MUNICIPAL LEAGUE.
Fulginiti: "Q. Bill in
your 40 years at the
Municipal League have
you ever seen a
situation like this? ...
A.
No never. Not at all.
It )s just actually blew
me away."
STATE POLICE CHIEF PETE
KASSETAS SERVES ON THE
LAW ENFORCEMENT
ACADEMY BOARD.
Kassetas: "My opinion is
it )s a complete sham. My
opinion is that what )s
happening in Lake Arthur
needs to be stopped
immediately and that
Chief needs to be held
responsible."
THE LAKE ARTHUR BADGE
SCHEME HAS BEEN GOING ON
FOR 13 YEARS.
Salazar: "We started it
out as a way to have law
enforcement more law
enforcement here in the
town."
YSIDRO SALAZAR IS LAKE
ARTHUR )S MAYOR.
Salazar: "Our community
is so small that we
can )t afford to pay a
police officer a lot of
money." SO HOW DO YOU
KEEP THE PEACE? LAKE
ARTHUR POLICE CHIEF WILL
NORWOOD MADE A
have some reserves and
they )ll help us
out."
Barker: "Norwood
proposed forming a Lake
Arthur posse of sorts, a
group of volunteers
called reserve
officers who could help
keep the village safe.
Because reservists are
not certified police
officers, they do not
have law enforcement
powers and cannot make
arrests."
THE LAKE ARTHUR RESERVE
POLICE PROGRAM WAS
LAUNCHED IN 2005.
BUT INSTEAD OF
RECRUITING LOCAL
RESIDENTS, THE CHIEF
ROUNDED UP A POSSE FROM
ACROSS THE COUNTRY:
THERE WERE EX-MILITARY
BUDDIES, GUN ENTHUSIASTS
AND A HANDFUL OF
CELEBRITIES.
MILITARY HERO AND LONE
SURVIVOR AUTHOR MARCUS
LUTTRELL FROM
TEXAS SIGNED UP. SO DID
ROB O )NEIL, THE EX NAVY
SEAL WHO CLAIMED TO
HAVE KILLED OSAMA BIN
LADEN. MIXED MARTIAL
ARTS LEGEND ROYCE
GRACIE AND HIS BROTHER
WERE RECRUITED ALONG
WITH JIU-JITSU GURU
DAVID ADIV FROM NEW
JERSEY. SO WAS EX-NAVY
SEAL ANDREW ARRABITO
WHO CALLS CALIFORNIA
HOME. MORE THAN 80% OF
THE LAKE ARTHUR
POLICE FORCE LIVE OUT OF
STATE.
Salazar: "They were here
as volunteers. ... They
would fly in, do their
time and then they would
go back home."
Barker: "Our
investigation finds Lake
Arthur )s Chief abused
his authority by passing
out legitimate
police credentials
allowing private
citizens to wear badges,
carry guns and play
cop."
Kassetas: "Q. Why do you
think these guys want a
New Mexico police
credential? A. There )s
probably a couple of
reasons. Many people
want to be police
officers and just can )t.
So thats what it
seems like what they )re
doing is they )re
somewhat buying their
way in."
THE TOWN COUNCIL WAS
TOLD RESERVISTS WOULD BE
VOLUNTEERS AND
HAVE LIMITED ENFORCMENT
AUTHORITY. HOWEVER, IN
EXCHANGE FOR A $400
ANNUAL FEE, THE
CREDENTIALS NORWOOD
ISSUED
GAVE HIS FRIENDS FULL
POLICE POWERS WITH
STATEWIDE
AUTHORITY. A LAKE
ARTHUR COMMISSION CARD
ALLOWS PRIVATE
CITIZENS TO WEAR BADGES,
CARRY CONCEALED WEAPONS
AND
BYPASS ACCREDITED
Lake Arthur badge living
in
California and a New
Mexico State Police
Officer? ... The
difference is 22 weeks
of on site closely
evaluated
training. The difference
is the 14 step process
to even get to the
academy. The difference
is that my
officers aren )t able to
walk in write a check
and then leave with a
badge and credentials
and a gun." LAKE
ARTHUR )S POLICE ROSTER
INCLUDES BUSINESSMAN
OLIVER BROOKS. BROOKS
CALLS HIMSELF CAPTAIN
BROOKS AND KEEPS
A LAKE ARTHUR PATROL CAR
PARKED IN THE DRIVEWAY
OF HIS LOS RANCHOS
ESTATE, NORTH OF
ALBUQUERQUE.
ALBUQUERQUE )S JORDAN
NIGHBERT HAS A LAKE
ARTHUR COMMISSION AND
FALSELY CLAIMS ON HIS
RESUME TO BE A CERTIFIED
POLICE OFFICER.
EVEN THOUGH TEXAN ALLAN
BROOKS IS NOT A POLICE
OFFICER HE
USED HIS LAKE ARTHUR
CREDENTIALS TO TAKE PART
IN AN
ARTESIA DRUG RAID IN
WHICH A SUSPECT WAS SHOT
AND KILLED. HE WAS NOT
CHARGED.
CHARLES PRESSBURG
FLASHED HIS VILLAGE
CREDENTIALS AFTER HE WAS
BUSTED FOR SHOOTING HIS
BROTHER IN LAW IN
OREGON. PRESSBURG WAS
LATER CONVICTED. AND
WHEN FORMER NAVY SEAL JD
SMITH WAS CHARGED WITH
DRUG SMUGGLING BY THE
DEA IN NORTH CAROLINA HE
CARRIED LAKE ARTHUR
POLICE
CREDENTIALS.
ALBUQUERQUE ATTORNEY
SIMON KUBIAK HAS NO
POLICE TRAINING
HOWEVER LAKE ARTHUR
RECORDS NAME HIM AS A
POLICE LT. AS HEAD OF
THE LAKE ARTHUR POLICE
RESERVE ASSOCIATION
KUBIAK
COLLECTS THE $400 IN
ANNUAL DUES FROM EACH OF
THE POSSE MEMBERS.
HOWEVER, THE ALBUQUERQUE
ATTORNEY WOULD NOT
RELEASE AN ACCOUNTING OF
THE FUNDS.
STATE REPRESENTATIVE
BILL REHM IS A RETIRED
BERNALILLO COUNTY
SHERIFF )S CAPTAIN.
Barker: "Q. Based on
what you know today
what )s going on in Lake
Arthur Bill? A. It looks
like to me
it )s a fraternity that
wants to carry concealed
guns. ... Q. Is the Lake
Arthur Police Department
by the book? A.
Absolutely not. They )re
not following any of the
procedures prescribed by
the lLaw Enforcement
Academy and the
documentation that you
showed me is totally
inadequate to even be a
police agency."
Fulginiti: "Q. How would
you characterize what )s
going on in Lake Arthur?
... A. People from
outside the
state and some inside
the state but mostly
outside the state taking
advantage of a small
village and their
ability to issue
commission cards and use
those to get carry
conceal authorization
and further their own
interests in kind of
like paramilitary."
Kassetas: "Q. What is
your advice to the Chief
in Lake Arthur? A. This
is an abuse of your
power. You need to
cease and desist
operating this program.
You need to recall all
those credentials
immediately."
WILL NORWOOD DID NOT
SHOW UP FOR A SCHEDULED
INTERVIEW. TWO
WEEKS AGO HE TURNED IN
HIS RESIGNATION.
Salazar: "Q. Does it
bother you that Chief
Norwood handed police
commissions to as many
as 150 people
many of them his friends
who live out of state?
A. Yes I guess it would
bother me. Yeah it does.
... Q. So what )s
the status of the
Reserve Officer Program
today? A. Because of you
asking for the names to
be released alot of the
reserve unit resigned.
So when they resigned I
dismantled the Reserve
unit."
THE MAYOR SAYS THE LAKE
ARTHUR POLICE
CREDENTIALS HAVE
BEEN RECALLED.
Salazar: "We try to do
good in this community
and it just got away
from us I guess Larry."
LARRY BARKER. KRQE NEWS
13.
THE LAKE ARTHUR BADGE
SCHEME HAS NOW DRAWN THE
ATTENTION OF BOTH
FEDERAL AND STATE
INVESTIGATORS..
TO SEE A ROSTER OF THE
LAKE ARTHUR RESERVE
POLICE, HEAD TO OUR KRQE
APP.
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