Bernalillo Co. NM Sheriff Manny Gonzalez makes false claims against political opponent, including accusation on helping Registrants move close to schools

Allegations of being "soft on sex offenders" as a political attack is nothing new. It has become quite commonplace, in fact. However, when a law enforcement agent makes such a blatantly false claim, we should take pause. It makes me wonder what other false allegations this Sheriff has made during his tenure. 

https://nmindepth.com/2021/10/22/sheriff-goes-to-the-dark-side-lobbing-grim-attacks-with-no-evidence/

Back in 2017, I wrote “it doesn’t get much darker” than ominous television ads attacking mayoral candidate Tim Keller, who is now Albuquerque mayor. Well, it’s gotten darker, and again Keller is the target. 

Four years ago the television ads, followed by billboards, showed an image of Keller and quickly cut to a dark figure wearing a hoodie, a classic racist trope. “Sex offender” flashed in bold red letters on the screen before cutting to a backlit child riding a bike.

Essentially, the ad sought to tap unconscious racist fears and smear Keller as a sex offender at the same time. Media outlets, including New Mexico In Depth, found no basis in the charge. Keller was one of 16 state senators in 2011 who voted for a bill sponsored by then-Senator Cisco McSorley that would have prevented municipalities from dictating where sex offenders could live. The state’s Sex Offender Management Board supported the bill. 

But the facts didn’t matter to those who paid for the ads, a mega westside land developer and a southern New Mexico oil man. It was classic negative campaigning — just throw any sort of mud at a candidate because you don’t like their politics. 

And the facts don’t seem to matter to Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales as he tries to unseat Keller as Albuquerque’s mayor this year. 

Gonzales dredged up the sex offender charge at a KOB mayoral debate Tuesday night, accusing Keller of sponsoring a bill in the past that would allow sex offenders to live close to schools and parks. 

One hopes Gonzales paid attention when that piece of negative campaigning got discredited in 2017 by the media, but if not, did his research before uttering those words Tuesday. 

But it got worse. Later in the debate Gonzales leveled shocking allegations of domestic violence against Keller without any evidence. 

Gonzales is a law enforcement professional who should know how important facts are when accusing someone of a crime. But maybe not. Then he accused the mayor of having an affair with a subordinate, again with no evidence. 

Four days later, there is still no evidence to support any of his claims. And in fact, KOAT said they looked into the rumor of domestic violence back in June, and found no evidence to support it. One would hope a Sheriff could do the same. 

Keller called the allegations disgusting, pathetic and defamatory. 

I’d add: cynical, calculating, and dishonest. And sad, frankly. Perhaps the worst is the allegation, with no evidence, of an affair. Keller’s family, including his children, must now grapple with it. 

I want to say all of this is a sign of desperation in the Gonzales campaign, the sort that usually leads to wild negativity, though any longtime New Mexico political observer knows it’s also a sign of Jay McCleskey, a GOP political consultant and media operative known for hard-hitting, negative advertising. Gonzales has so far paid McCleskey $189,000, mainly for advertising costs. 

But at the end of the day, as much as many like to throw stones at McCleskey or other political operatives, it’s Manny Gonzales who is responsible. Whether the unsupported attacks on Keller propel Gonzales to the mayor’s office remains to be seen. Regardless, what happened Tuesday is a particularly dark chapter in New Mexico elections that we can only hope won’t become the norm.

Orange County, FL, Sheriff's Deputy Keith Vidler actually held accountable for targeting Registered Person for 2 years

The only shocking thing here is a law enforcement agency actually held one of their own accountable for their abuse of authority. In FloriDUH, of all place. 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/orange-county-sergeant-accused-of-abuse-of-power-terminated/ar-AAPfzui

Orange County sergeant accused of abuse of power terminated

Shannon Butler, Sarah Wilson  10/7/2021

A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop.

A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop.© Provided by WFTV Orlando A sergeant with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office has been terminated after the sheriff’s office said he abused his power during a traffic stop.

Veteran officer Keith Vidler is accused of holding a grudge against a man he had been investigating for two years.

Vidler, a 30-year veteran law enforcement officer, pulled people to safety during the Pulse nightclub attack.

An internal investigation into a traffic stop found Vidler purposely targeted Jeremy Dewitte, a registered sex offender who has a history of arrests for impersonating a police officer.

Initially, Vidler said he was pulling the convicted felon over for carrying a firearm, but it turned out to be a pepper ball gun.

A sheriff’s office internal investigation found the pepper ball weapon was in plain view and not concealed, and that Dewitte should have been released, but instead he was taken to jail.

Channel 9 tried to talk to Vidler last month, but he said he couldn’t comment, and he said he still can’t today; but paperwork obtained by Channel 9 shows what Vidler told the board just a few days ago.

He said he had been investigating Dewitte since September 2019, but in late 2020, he was informed that the investigation into Dewitte would have to be “shut down.”

He said there was no contact with Dewitte until an arrest in March of 2021, which he says shows he wasn’t holding a grudge. He said he also didn’t know it was Dewitte at first.

Vidler said he called his supervisor about the arrest, who Vidler said told him “good job.”

He said he knew this would be the outcome because he said he was outspoken about the investigation into Dewitte and about other things at the department, but after days of taking the case into consideration the board fired him.

Channel 9 asked Sheriff John Mina to comment on the termination, but since Vidler has one more appeal to go through, he would not comment.

Vidler was also advised not to comment until the case is over.

Some in the community have launched a GoFundMe supporting Vidler and a corporal who was suspended in the same case, claiming the sheriff’s office targeted them.

Biased Marion Co IN Sheriff Kerry Forestal justifies harassment campaign by claiming high reoffense rates

It is obvious here that Sheriff Forrest-Gump is trying to pressure Registered Persons to leave his county. He should be investigated for abusing his position. Lying to the public about reoffense rates is also a disservice to the community. 

He thinks we're all telling registrants to go to Indianapolis. Hello, big city means more people snd thus Registered Persons. What a putz!

https://fox59.com/news/sheriffs-office-ramps-up-efforts-to-educate-crack-down-on-noncompliant-sex-offenders-in-marion-county/

Sheriff’s office ramps up efforts to educate, crack down on noncompliant sex offenders in Marion County

by: Courtney Spinelli

Posted: Jul 7, 2021 / 11:21 PM EDT / Updated: Jul 7, 2021 / 11:22 PM EDT

INDIANAPOLIS — The Marion County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO) shared it has reallocated resources to put an emphasis on proactively tackling the issue of non-compliant sex offenders in the community.

Right now, Marion County has 1,815 registered sex offenders that live in it, which the MCSO said is by far the most in any county in Indiana.

“Before I was the sheriff, I was the division commander and had the sex crimes unit under me and it continued to have more people from other counties come to Marion County,” said Sheriff Kerry Forestal. He told FOX59 he hoped to discourage this as he ran for Sheriff but said several contributing factors have made it difficult to control a growing number of outside offenders coming to the county.

Data provided by the MCSO reveals a growth in the percentage of registered sex offenders living in it, who were not convicted in the county, but instead moved after their release.

In 2018, the MCSO said 39% of registered sex offenders in Marion County were convicted elsewhere. That number rose to 42% by January of 2021, and in just six months, it moved to 45% by June.

“My issue isn’t the percentage increase, it’s when those increases come,” said State Representative Mitch Gore.

“It took three years to get to 42%, an increase of 3%, but it only took six months to get to 45%,” he said, “What I think we’re seeing is an exponential increase in the number of out-of-town sex offenders and I want to know, are they talking to each other? Why are they coming here? Is the state dumping sex offenders in our county?”

FOX59 reached out to the Indiana Department of Correction, who said each release of inmates is planned with the offender by members of its Re-Entry Division and Transitional Healthcare Services team.

“Each release includes an approved placement for the releasing citizen, which is determined based on a multitude of factors, including education, employment opportunities, family support, housing, transportation, resources and any restrictions or requirements put in place by the sentencing court,” a spokesperson for IDOC told FOX59.

Still, Forestal said he feels there are programs in Marion County he believes could be moved elsewhere, making it less convenient for sex offenders to move within county limits after their release.

“It’s easier to mix into to a population of 900,000 so they’ll move their post-release housing into our county,” said Forestal. “I want Hoosier hospitality to be people that we want in our community. Now, they want to go back in their community, that’s where they need to be.”

Forestal said he wants to encourage parents to keep an extra watchful eye on their children and the MCSO is working to increase its social media awareness on the community’s non-compliant sex offenders as part of this effort.

“We want our kids safe. I think parents should be able to feel they can send their kids out to the parks without having to look over their shoulders, but we’re in reality. We do need to look over the shoulders,” Forestal said.

“We feature, every Monday, a sex offender and if you notice, they’re always somebody who’s from out of town and it’s always somebody who’s failed to register,” said Gore. “We are seeing more and more that the people that come here are failing to register.”

To make his message clear that MCSO is cracking down more than ever on sex offenders that are not complying with rules, Forestal said he placed a sign in the lobby where they are required to register, which reads, “You’re welcome in Marion County as long as you follow the law.”

“The law allows you to be here and if you follow that, fine. I don’t like the programs that encourage them to come to Indianapolis,” he said. “Some of the smaller communities they may be recognized as being what they did and they’re choosing to avoid that detection by coming here.”

Last session, Gore introduced a piece of bipartisan legislation, House Bill 1556, co-authored by State Rep. Mike Speedy, which sought to allow a county’s legislative body to restrict the ability of a sex offender to move into a community, unless they were coming for legitimate reasons like employment or treatment programs.

“It did not get a hearing, but I’m hopeful when we explain this issue to other state legislators that they see the need and they allow it to move forward,” said Gore.

He said he is meeting with other state legislators and certain stakeholders to get a firm grasp on the factors surrounding the issue, and to have firm information so they can hopefully move forward and re-introduce the legislation in next session.

“It’s a problem that the state has helped create and so it’s one that we all have to get together and try to fix going forward,” said Gore. “It’s an issue in red counties and blue counties, which don’t really exist when we talk about this issue.”

Gore shared that he is glad to see Sheriff Forestal and the department taking an increased focus on proactivity when it comes to keeping an eye on the sex offenders living within county lines.

“What it really helps us do, is it gives us much better data and a much better idea of how pervasive this issue is so I can go to my colleagues at the Statehouse, give them hard data, say ‘this is how it affects my county; I can help you get the data for your county, and can we show you, is this happening in your county to the same extent.'”

Gore said Marion County is in a unique position, where it has to deal with this problem in a greater volume than any other in Indiana.

“There are other counties that don’t have to deal with this, so they’re able to allocate resources to their jail and their warrant teams and they’re able to go out and arrest, you know, violent offenders that are on the run,” he said. “We have to dedicate a great amount of time and resources to the sex offender issue, when almost half of them shouldn’t even be here.”

Gore hopes a bipartisan piece of legislation on this would keep the issue at the forefront of Marion County residents’ minds, and to know there are things they can do, and law enforcement is doing, to keep their kids safe.

Forestal said, “We keep the eyes on the people who want to keep their eyes on the children. Sex offenders have a very high recidivism rate and to make that very clear, they do it again.”

“They’re getting a second chance. The fact that they’re out on the streets and not in jail, a judge somewhere has made the decision to allow them to do that,” Forestal said.

He said all is he asking them to do is follow the rules, and because he knows some out there are not doing that, he and his department are committed to conducting unannounced sweeps and focusing resources on the issue, as needed.

MCSO said so far, year to date, they have conducted 3,600 in-person compliance checks. Additionally, the department has launched 195 criminal investigations, which is a 49% increase from the same time period in 2018.

Also up 35% from the same time period in 2018 is the number of warrant applications made due to registered sex offenders failing to comply. So far this year, the department has made 42 applications.

This year, 36 non-compliant sex offenders have been arrested in Marion County, which the MCSO said is a 140% increase from the same time period in 2018.

Current numbers show in the county jail, there are 212 people charged with some kind of sexual or sexually violent crime. The crimes range anywhere from rape to child molestation.

Sheriff Forestal said his message for registered sex offenders in the county is clear: “Another sweep will be coming and as we mentioned before we don’t tell you when, but for the sex offenders, we will be coming for you again, so follow the rules or move out.”

“Those sweeps call it to attention that we will be knocking on your door. If you tell us this is your address, it better be current and we’re gonna take action against you.”

Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell claims bill lowering strict residency restrictions is "pro-sex offender, anti-victim, anti-police"

 Dear Sheriff Jacckass, 

You have done absolutely NO research on this subject, Sheriff.  Residency restriction laws DO NOT WORK. People like to pretend they do because cops like you, the media, and lawmakers have spread Predator Panic for decades.

https://khqa.com/news/state/illinois-bill-would-allow-child-sex-offenders-to-live-closer-to-schools

Illinois bill would allow sex offenders to live closer to schools

by Matt Roy

Monday, March 15th 2021

"The closer you bring a sex offender to these vulnerable targets, the more likely they are going to offend,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said.

PRINGFIELD, Ill. (WICS/WRSP) — A new bill going through the Illinois House would change sex offender laws and allow them to live closer to schools, day cares, and playgrounds.

Currently, sex offenders have to live a minimum of 500 feet away from places like these. Those in favor of the bill say this would help support and rehabilitate sex offenders.

However, law enforcement officials and many people on Facebook think the whole idea is idiotic.

House Bill 3913 would make it so sex offenders could live 250 feet away from playgrounds, schools, and day cares, instead of 500.

"The closer you bring a sex offender to these vulnerable targets, the more likely they are going to offend,” Sangamon County Sheriff Jack Campbell said.

Campbell said this is a pro-sex offender, anti-victim, anti-police bill.

"Overall, the bill would make our communities less safe,” Campbell said.

However, Chicago Alliance Against Sexual Exploitation (CAASE) Policy Manager Madeleine Behr said these residency restrictions on sex offenders are causing higher rates of poverty and homelessness, and thus, they would be more likely to re-offend.

"The goal is to open up more housing for folks,” Behr said. “We know that poverty, housing issues, other things are more likely to lead to crime. So, by reducing that is really helpful."

Campbell said the ramifications would be that the move would cause more temptation to re-offend.

"We will not support this and law enforcement will fight it tooth and nail because it appears to be another anti-victim, anti-police bill that one of our misguided legislators is trying to push through," Campbell said.

Behr said this is a huge problem in the highly populated Chicago area, and not so much downstate.

But, she said in order for this to change, Illinois law has to change, and that will affect the entire state.

The introduction of this bill comes just two months after the massive criminal justice reform package.

HB 3913 is still in its beginning stages and has yet to be heard in committee.

Chicago 400, another advocacy group, has a plethora of information on their cause and the group on their website.

They provided what the bill does and why and a fact sheet from their perspective.

DuPage County Sheriff James Mendrick also spoke out against the bill in a Facebook post.