All right.

So the 14th meeting of the 26th Council will come to order.

All counselors are present this evening or will be with Councilor Rogers joining us via Zoom.

We'll have a moment of silence and then the Pledge of Allegiance.

Pledge of allegiance to the flag.

The United States of America.

To the Republic for which it stands.

One nation under God.

Liberty and justice for all.

Civic Plaza parking passes are provided for members of the public.

You can obtain a parking pass from council staff at the table near the chamber entrance.

Members of the public, city staff, and the media have the ability to view this meeting in person and live stream through four different platforms.

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The council will take a break at approximately 7 p.m.

this evening with regard to decorum in the chambers.

We want tonight's proceedings to be as civil and respectful as possible.

Please do not make any personal attacks, and please no applause or other outbursts during the meeting.

Counselor.

All right, uh, we'll start with it.

We have uh item three proclamations and presentations.

We have one proclamation tonight and then two presentations, and uh we'll we'll keep our the presentations at a maximum of five minutes uh during that time, but we'll start off with a proclamation uh like Councilor Sanchez.

Thank you, Mr.

President.

Um, this proclamation is basically honoring um four uh Albuquerque police officers who actually um ran to a threat um to take care of business.

Uh please come on up and uh I had the opportunity to actually work with uh with three of these officers when I was actually working at APD.

Sean Kenny and I, who just walked up right now, um were sergeants together in the Southeast.

Um I was um Harry's lieutenant uh when he was working in the uh Foothills Area Command and Mario, I was Mario's lieutenant also while he was working in the Foothills Area Command.

And uh we also have James or Steve Eichel as well.

So I just wanted to make sure that that the citizens of Albuquerque, the city council understood that these individuals um went to the fight to take care of the business, and they took care of the threat.

Um but in taking care of this threat, these officers all sustained gunshot.

Um, they all were shot, every single one of them.

And um Mario who worked with me in the Foothills um receiving the the worst of the gunshots today, August 19th is actually the actual day three years ago that these brave men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department um almost had to give the ultimate sacrifice because they fought and they were in it and they stayed in the fight, and that fight means your family, your injuries, everything.

And that fight means your family, your injuries, everything.

They're all here today so that we can recognize them on this proclamation.

So officers, thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting yourselves between the citizens of Albuquerque and the bad guys.

I appreciate it more than you know.

And we're gonna read the proclamation, although we have one counselor that's out, so she didn't sign it.

So I'd like to go ahead and have the other officer that's on city council start the proclamation.

And if anybody else wants to say a few words before we read.

Okay, we're ready.

Go ahead.

Yeah.

Thank you, Counselor Santos.

Whereas the morning of August 19th, 2021 started out as another day patrolling the streets of Albuquerque to protect and serve the people and the businesses of our community.

And whereas four officers from the Foothills Area Command left their homes and their loved ones early that morning with the intention of returning home to their loved ones after their shift was completed.

And whereas Officer Mario Verbeck, James Eichel, Harry Gunderson, and Sergeant Sean Kenny responded to a call of an armed robbery in progress.

And whereas these officers responded to a call immediately and without hesitation or concern for their own safety or their lives, because they were called to address a threat by an armed robber at a business at Wantabo Boulevard Northeast.

Whereas upon arrival at the scene, the four officers were immediately fired upon by the suspects.

Officers Verbeck and Eichel were struck by the bullets of an of the armed robbers and were critically injured, sustaining life-threatening wounds.

And whereas Officer Mario Verbeck, James Eichel, Harry Gunderson, and Sergeant Sean Kenny are heroes who exemplify the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department in their commitment to serve and protect the people of Albuquerque.

And whereas these heroes, like their brothers and sisters in Albuquerque Police Department, leave their families every day, not knowing whether they will return home after their shifts, providing vital public services.

And whereas police officers who, by their faithful and loyal devotion to their duties and responsibilities, have rendered a dedicated service to their communities, and in doing so, they have established for themselves an evitable and enduring reputation for preserving rights and security for all the people, and whereas this council calls upon people of the Albuquerque and patriotic civil and educational organizations and community organizations to take a moment in your daily lives to thank a police officer.

Be it proclaimed that this council, the governing body of the city of Albuquerque, hereby proclaims August 19th, 2024, as a day to extend our thanks and deepest gratitude to these four heroes and to the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department who have taken oath to protect and serve the people of Albuquerque.

Thank you, everybody.

You know, the this proclamation hits it right on the head.

We don't know what's going to happen when we leave our houses every single day we leave our house, and we want to make sure that we return to our families.

And that's one of the things that we all sometimes forget when you're dealing with a police officer who pulls you over, or a police officer who's addressing the criminal trespassing, or the police officer is writing that police report for the breaking and entering or your stolen vehicle.

These officers are handling other calls that are extremely dynamic.