City Leaders Break Ground on New Police Area Command

ALBUQUERQUE, NM - City Leaders broke ground Wednesday on the Michael King-Richard Smith police sub station.

The area command, which oversees patrol functions for the city's Northwest Side, has been operating out of a temporary building located near Coors and Ellison NW since April 2008. The new station will be at the same location and construction is expected be complete by May 2011. The building is projected to cost $5.2 million.

"This area command will serve a vital role in APD's efforts to curb property crime by giving officers the time to respond to calls sooner," Mayor Richard J. Berry said. "It is only fitting that this is one of the first things I have done as mayor."

The station will be utilized by 115 officers assigned to APD's field services Bureau and seven detectives. It is the first APD building to be constructed with room for expansion and new post-Sept. 11 security enhancements. It will serve as a backup headquarters for APD and a backup Emergency Operations Center. It also has the capability of being turned into a communications center.

The building will be named after Albuquerque police officers Richard Smith and Michael King, who were tragically killed Aug. 18, 2005 while responding to a mental health pickup order. They were the last Albuquerque police officers to be killed in the line of duty.

The station is APD's sixth area command and will over see patrol functions north of Interstate 40 and west of the Rio Grande.

"This is an exciting time for the Albuquerque Police Department," Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said. "This station will give us an important presence on the West Side."