Wife of wounded officer lashes out at mayor, police chief

By Nancy Laflin

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    ALBUQUERQUE, New Mexico (KOAT) — On the steps of city hall Monday, Tryna Verbeck didn’t hold back.

“My family and what I now know to be my countless brothers and sisters in blue hold you both equally accountable for the nightmare my family will never get to wake up from,” she said.

APD officers were responding to a robbery in Northeast Albuquerque Aug. 19. Three officers were shot, a fourth was injured by broken glass.

Mario Verbeck was critically hurt when a bullet hit his neck.

On Monday, his wife used the incident to express frustration with the mayor and police chief.

She said she is frustrated because she believes there is a lack of staffing and leadership at the department.

“I am here to let people know that I am now your worst nightmare, you will not use my husband or the other officers as your political backdrop. I am not going away, I am only starting,” Tryna Verbeck said.

Standing beside her on the steps during the news conference was another officer who was shot that day, James Eichel. He said right now he couldn’t talk to the media.

Tryna Verbeck is talking.

“I am now the voice of all those officers’ families who didn’t have a voice before,” she said.

The Fraternal Order of Police was also at the news conference.

They said because of the agreement APD has with the Department of Justice more officers are investigating each other than fighting crime on the streets.

That agreement was reached seven years ago and is costing taxpayers millions after the DOJ found APD had a pattern of excessive force back in 2014.

Police Chief Harold Medina sent a statement that reads in part:

“There is no doubt that morale among officers was impacted by several issues and events over the past year-and-a-half – from the anti-police protests in 2020, to the challenges of the pandemic and the struggles resulting from mandates by the DOJ settlement. As a result, we have lost officers to retirement or decisions to leave the profession. Those losses compounded the problem of not being fully staffed, even though we have hired hundreds of new officers.”

A spokesman for Mayor Tim Keller also sent a statement that reads in part:

“Mrs. Verbeck is understandably concerned about her husband and the safety of all officers who risk their lives to keep us safe. We have also expressed our concerns to the DOJ, the court monitors, and the federal delegation because we can’t continue to improve if officers do not feel supported.”

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