Outrage Over Payments To Police After Shootings

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Twenty Albuquerque police officers involved in shootings in 2010 and 2011 were paid by the police union $300 or $500, which the father of one victim says amounts to a bounty.

The Albuquerque Journal reports a written statement from Albuquerque Police Officers Association President Joey Sigala and Vice President Felipe Garcia said the payments are to cover some expenses for officers who've been involved in "critical incidents."

They declined to be interviewed, and their statement did not say whether union officials offer the payments or whether officers must ask for them.

Police Chief Ray Schultz says he was unaware of the practice.

Mike Gomez's son was fatally shot by an Albuquerque officer and says the money sounds like a "reward system, a bounty."

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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com

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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press.