*The above video has been cut for viewing purposes – the actual police interaction was much longer than what is shown in the newscast
LORDSBURG, N.M. (KRQE) – A high-ranking official, stopped on suspicion of impaired driving, ends up being let go by police even though other officers are concerned. Newly-released video shows a DWI stop involving the Lordsburg mayor.
On Wednesday evening of last week, a Lordsburg police officer pulls over his boss, Mayor Glenda Greene, for speeding, weaving, and straddling a line in her pickup truck. A young boy is in the passenger seat.
Officer: Hello…Sorry…
Mayor Greene: Jesus, Chuy.
Officer: The reason I pulled you over is because you were kind of swerving back there.
Another officer shows up shortly after. The first officer tells them who it is and that they smell alcohol.
Officer: Ok, so let’s talk to her and…I’ll have to see. If you smell alcohol, I just have…I mean, we’ve gotta do our job, bro.
Mayor Greene tells them she has been drinking. This same mayor who was arrested two years ago for DWI, said she had two beers then blew a 0.15, which is a lot more than a couple of beers.
This time, the mayor asks for a favor. “Let me just get him home,” she says of the boy in the car. But the officer tells the mayor he’s not the kind of cop who doesn’t give breaks.
The Lordsburg cops tell the mayor they’re calling in state police to take over and avoid a conflict of interest.
Officer: Since you are our boss, you’re…it’s a conflict of interest.
Mayor Greene: No, I’m not saying anything because you’re my boss, or I’m your boss.
The officers in the video show concern. Eventually, State Police Officer Spencer Roberts shows up and conducts a field sobriety test.
She stumbles badly on the first couple of steps but it doesn’t matter. The officer eventually decides he doesn’t need a breathalyzer. He doesn’t think she’s legally drunk.
NMSP Officer: Ok so, you’re right there at that point. I don’t think you’re quite over the limit off of the clues that I saw, but I think you’re right close to it. Where the limit might be point-oh-eight. I think you’re about a point-oh-six, okay?
Mayor Greene: My house is literally right there.
NMSP: Right, I’m not going to arrest you tonight, okay? But yeah don’t…if you’ve had any. I just say don’t drive.
Mayor Greene: Got it.
News 13 reached out to state police to get their take on how this DWI stop was conducted and if the mayor should have been given a breathalyzer. Officer Wilson Silver gave the following statement:
“Our officer conducted a DWI investigation, and concluded he did not have enough evidence to determine probable cause to arrest had been met. Our officers are trained to err on the side of caution when making an arrest/non-arrest decision, because we do not arrest based on ‘hunches’ or ‘gut feelings.’ Furthermore, there was a lengthy delay between the time the Lordsburg PD officers made the stop and the arrival of our officer who was asked to complete the investigation due to the distance our officer had to travel to get to the stop location.”