What follows is submitted as both a comment, and email from another officer within the El Paso Police Department.

I want to take a moment to comment on Sergeant Camp, what the department has chosen to do, and the track they have placed themselves on. I am a long-time veteran of the El Paso Police Department and am ashamed of what the department is becoming. 

This particular witchhunt with Sergeant Camp did not begin with the release of a video showing that the Critical Incident Team that taxpayers spend so much money on is incapable of doing its job. That was not the genesis of this investigation. This began when Sergeant Camp filed a complaint against Frank Rodriguez. I will email you copies of that complaint and the department’s answers.

Mr. Rodriguez, a man who does not merit mention by rank, has displayed a disturbing lack of maturity. He has resorted to mocking Sergeant Camp and other officers who were in a life-threatening situation at 8500 Dyer. This was their first encounter with such danger.

When you have an officer and one who holds a relatively high rank as Rodriguez does, and they begin making light of other officers, you start to chip away at overall morale. When that same officer refuses to respond to a call for his direct assistance as the acting NE Regional Command acting commander, you’ve severely eroded what morale may exist. When Chief Allen, God rest his soul, decided to counsel Sergeant Camp and give Rodriguez a hard pass, you’ve destroyed all morale.

The department’s current action of seeking criminal charges against Sergeant Camp is equivalent to a hardline dictatorship where the rules do not apply to a select few. If they go ahead with the planned arrest of Sergeant Camp for what I now know is a video he did not release to the media, will they then begin to enforce this rule with others who have shared videos? No.

Another officer shared the following with you, “Show why the behavior has failed the department. Show why the actions indicate these people set a poor example. You have the policies, mission statement, and core values. Just match the behavior to the violation and ask why these actions have not had consequences that have improved the department.”

As a long-time officer with the El Paso Police Department, let me answer: There is a more significant problem within the department that they do not want to address: the love of power corrupting the few. 

I believe, and this is the opinion of just one officer, that awful individuals are enriching themselves or their families while on duty. Far too many officers are willing to ignore policy, and the chain of command turns a blind eye in the name of staffing shortages. That is not how you honor your oath or the shield pinned upon your chest.

Now, the department’s secret cabal of officers who hold all the power will arrest and prosecute Sergeant Camp for daring to speak out against corruption and dereliction of duty, all because of a video he never shared? 

If you read this and are a fellow officer, look in the mirror and ask yourself what side you are on. We are now facing an internal battle in which we must either remain silent and join the side that neglects the oath and shield, or we must speak out and fight what we all know is wrong. 

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