On Monday, the Las Cruces City Council held their first regular session meeting in April, and the first since the Young Park shooting last month.
During the hour-long public participation portion of Monday’s meeting, the majority of those who spoke vented their feelings about the Young Park shooting on March 21st. One speaker, Tim Jenkins, called for more accountability for kids and parents.
“A holistic approach to crime: discipline, respect, and fear is a holistic approach to crime,” Jenkins said to the council. “That is what this generation needs. Deming has a curfew, and I believe that we need to start there, and hold kids and parent accountable.”
District 2 resident Lucas Herndon spoke about the lack of resources to create things for kids to do that the city once had, such as a bowling alley or putt-putt course. He also directed some of his ire towards the Las Cruces police chief Jeremy Story.
“The chief of police, the day of the shooting, ‘This horrendous, senseless act is a stark reminder of the blatant disregard people in New Mexico have for the rule of law and order,’” Herndon said. “(Chief Story) went on to say that as angry as he was right now, he wasn’t going to make the conference political. That was a political statement.”
When it came time for council member board reports and comments near the end of the meeting, District 1 councilor Cassie McClure gave an emotional statement in regards to the Young Park shooting, with a plea to the younger people who attend city council meetings.
“There are members of our community that should have gone home a few nights ago, and they didn’t,” McClure said. “And I grieve with the parents and the family and the friends in our city. There’s a flaw in our system right now, for us specifically, that I’d like to address. And I’d like to make a plea to the younger crowd that was here that always leaves: I want to encourage kiddos to come to this. Join us for these meetings. We want you at the table to tell us exactly what we can do, how we can do this better.”
When it was his turn to speak during the member board comments, Mayor Eric Enriquez came to the defense of police chief Jeremy Story and the Las Cruces police department.
“We are saddened by what took place at Young Park,” Mayor Enriquez said. “We’re sad, we’re frustrated, we have anger. But we’re not here to blame. And I do have to say this: it’s wrong to come and blame the police, and to blame Chief Story for a comment that he makes. This was not his fault. Their primary duty is to respond. They never started the fight, they never started the fire.”
The next Las Cruces City Council meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 21st.
