By Vic Vela
Albuquerque Journal
Santa Fe Police Chief Aric Wheeler is stepping down, according to high-ranking officers in the department.
Wheeler is expected to meet with commanding officers this morning and announce that he is resigning as chief and will take on another position within the department, t hose sa me sources told the Journal late Tuesday.
Wheeler will be replaced on an interim basis by Ray Rael, a former long-term member of the Santa Fe Police Department. The 57-year-old Rael was at one time second-incommand during his tenure of more than two decades in the department; he retired in 1999 as captain.
Most recently, Rael was employed by the city’s Human Resources Department as the compliance administrator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Rael was asked Tuesday by City Manager Robert Romero to take over as interim chief and Rael accepted, sources told the Journal. Neither Wheeler nor Rael could be reached for comment Tuesday evening. Calls to Romero and Santa Fe Mayor David Coss were not returned. Wheeler took over as chief in April 2009 at the age of 37. Most recently, Wheeler had been engaged in a battle with the police union over a contro- versial shift change that led to the Santa Fe Police Officers Association upholding a “noconfidence” vote against him last month.
Wheeler announced he was making a switch from officers working four days a week, 10 hours a day, to a five-day-aweek schedule with an eighthour shift. Wheeler said that change was necessary because of city budget woes and said that it would put more patrols on the streets. The union cried foul, saying that Wheeler’s move vio
lates the collective bargaining agreement. Union Vice President Adam Gallegos said he looks forward to seeing how the switch in chief plays out.
“We’re optimistic that the change will fix the problems occurring between the (union) and the city,” he said. “And we hope to get back to the negotiating table and resolve some issues so that we can focus on solving the crime problem in Santa Fe.”
Last November, the union filed a grievance against the chief for how he handled an allegation that an officer had intimidated a suspect into a confession. That same month, it also voted “no confidence” in the city manager and an assistant city attorney based on the reinstatement of an officer charged with DWI. Wheeler has also been wrestling with a burglary problem that has plagued the city for years. Residential burglaries in 2010 were the highest the city has ever seen. For years - and before Wheeler took over as chief - the city has been ranked among the worst in the nation, per capita, for burglaries.
Copyright 2011 Albuquerque Journal