Wednesday, April 23, 2014

PRIEM CONDEMNS LATEST SOCIAL MEDIA SMEAR CAMPAIGN

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P.O. Box 21308 u Albuquerque, New Mexico 87154-1308 u 505-369-4233

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Peter Shams-Avari
                (505) 369-4233
                peter@priem.us

PRIEM CONDEMNS LATEST SOCIAL MEDIA SMEAR CAMPAIGN

Albuquerque, NM – Republican Candidate for the First Congressional District, Richard Priem today condemned the latest attempt by left wing ideologues to use social media to attack his reputation and misrepresent his background, experiences and beliefs.   
In a series of messages on Twitter that appeared last night and this morning, it was alleged by several authors that Priem supported all use of deadly force by the Albuquerque Police Department and actually was involved in training Albuquerque police officers in use of force policies and procedures. Priem has done neither.
“First and foremost, I only support use of deadly force in situations where it is required to protect officers or bystanders from death or serious bodily harm (and legally justified),” Priem said. “I believe that the new leadership at APD should be given an opportunity to address any problems they find before the heavy hand of the Federal government orders actions that may not be fully justified.”
Priem went on to say that “The vast majority of police officers in Albuquerque are responsible public servants, committed to protecting our community from those who would do us harm. To label the entire police department as a ‘problem’ represents a gross distortion of reality.”
Priem is a long-time law enforcement manager, having served as the Provost Marshal (chief of police) at what was the largest military installation in the “free” world at the time and as Executive Officer of a forward-deployed Military Police Brigade. He also provided oversight for all military police and combating terrorism training conducted by the U.S. Army. “We had an enviable record in the Army when I served in these roles,” Priem stated. “I am proud of the fact that we had no unjustified law enforcement shooting incidents during my term in that position.”
Priem also managed development and delivery of training for civilian first responders responsible for preventing terrorist bombing attacks and conducting effective operations during bombing incidents that actually occur. Commenting on that training, Priem stated that “We had a complex use of force policy for suicide bombing scenarios that was reviewed and approved by government lawyers. To the best of my knowledge, none of our graduates has been accused of inappropriate use of force in any incident.” These training courses brought over $250M into the New Mexico economy during Priem’s tenure as contract manager.
“I sincerely hope that the misrepresentations that emerged last night and today don’t reflect approval by the Michelle Lujan-Grisham campaign,” according to Priem. “I suspect that she doesn’t want to face me in the general election but I hope that her campaign will deliver only responsible, truthful statements designed to highlight the differences in our political positions. The voters of this District deserve that.”
Priem believes that all the citizens of our community should allow the leadership at APD to identify and make any necessary changes to policies, procedures and training based on their analyses of the regrettable shooting incidents of the recent past. ”The police department in Albuquerque stands between us and the chaos that would occur without their presence and support,” according to Priem. “Let’s tone down the rhetoric and solve problems responsibly and professionally.” 

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