Portales council votes against agreement with Elida

Portales City Council voted 4-3 against a motion July 26 to approve an intergovernmental agreement with the village of Elida to allow its off-duty police officers to patrol traffic in Elida for 12 hours a week.

At its July 5 meeting, the council had instructed City Manager Sarah Austin to draw up an agreement for possible approval to bring before council at the next meeting, which she did. However, at the start of the discussion at the July 26 meeting, council member Daniel Boan said he contacted the state police and several sheriff offices about the legality of its off-duty officers patrolling traffic in Elida. All of them said if the Portales officers are not commissioned by the sheriff, the state police or employed by Elida, “they have no authority to pull over anyone” and could be “charged with impersonating an officer.”

Austin said she spoke with someone at the New Mexico Self Insurance Fund who told her having Elida commission Portales officers “is the same as the sheriff being able to commission them. There is no difference and there is no chance of the officers being arrested.”

Councilors Daniel Boan, Jake Lopez, Dianne Parker and Veronica Cordova voted “No” to the motion and Mayor Pro Tem Mike Miller, Oscar Robinson and Chadrick Heflin voted “Yes.”