SANTA FE, N.M. — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has authorized the deployment of New Mexico National Guard personnel to support the Albuquerque Police Department Tuesday.

This move comes due to “ongoing public safety challenges in the city, particularly along the Central Avenue corridor and other specific areas,” a press release stated.

She, along with city leaders, insist the National Guard will not be acting as police officers, but they could be here for a while. 

The National Guard’s main role is to support Albuquerque police officers, so those officers can be out on the streets fighting crime. Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina points to the Central Corridor as an area that needs a lot of help. 

In the letter Medina sent to the governor requesting the assistance states they need help keeping up the progress they’ve already made along Central Avenue. 

The National Guard will be responding to medical emergencies, de-escalating potentially volatile encounters, and handing out water and food to people dealing with homelessness. They’ll also be doing security at crime scenes and traffic control for accidents, transporting prisoners and helping TSA at the Sunport. 

Basically, if it’s something that would tie up an APD officer from being out making arrests, that’s where the National Guard would step in. 

“Our officers spend a lot of time on scenes that they don’t need to. We have officers parked guarding violent crime scenes for up to 6, 8, 12 hours. We have officers guarding fatal traffic accidents 6, 8, 12 hours. If I can start taking 6 hours off these on scene clears it’s going to make a huge difference, and it’s going to start swaying and getting officers back in service, and getting resources back into the community at even a faster pace,” said Medina.

We reached out to state senators and representatives along with Albuquerque City Councilors who represent areas that include Central Avenue. Councilor Nichole Rogers didn’t respond to a request for an interview. Councilor Klarissa Pena said she supports sending the national guard here. And Councilor Louie Sanchez pointed to Mayor Tim Keller’s failure as a leader. He is running against Keller to be our next mayor.

Out of five state lawmakers with districts along Central, we only heard back from two. State Senator Mimi Stewart was not available for an interview, but Senator Antoinette Sedillo Lopez told us she supports the national guard moving in.

“I think there are a lot of residents in my district who are very concerned about crime and I’m glad the national guard is coming in a supportive role to help a troubled police department do its job effectively,” Sedillo Lopez said.

Senator Sedillo Lopez said she co-sponsored a bill last session to increase punishment for human trafficking when asked if she’s done anything to help with public safety along Central. We also asked her about juvenile crime since Chief Medina said it’s fueling this crime crisis. Senator Sedillo Lopez said she believes juveniles should be rehabilitated, not criminalized.

Between 60 and 70 national guardsmen and women will be deployed to the Duke City in mid-May. They have to go through training first. A spokesman for the national guard said most of the training is in a classroom at the New Mexico National Guard Readiness Center in Santa Fe. The training they’re receiving is similar to that of APD’s public safety aids.

Watch the full press conference of Mayor Tim Keller and Medina on the deployment of the National Guard below: