New Mexico border town left without police department

[alp227]

Source: CNN

(CNN) -- Still reeling from a scandal that claimed its former mayor, and potentially its former police chief and a village trustee, a small New Mexico border town is now without a police department.

Columbus, New Mexico, with a population of about 1,800, is in such financial disarray that the town is not even sure how much it owes, current Mayor Nicole Lawson told CNN.

Whatever that amount is, she said, "we don't have it."

The sudden drying of the town coffers meant that Columbus, situated across the border from Puerto Palomas, Mexico -- a town known to be a staging area for drug cartels -- had to fire its six-person police department.

Read more: http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/07/14/new.mexico.border.town/index.html

---

Alto, Texas is another American small town that's relying on the county sheriff for law enforcement.

[roberto IS beto]

1. google map = 50 miles south of Deming, NM

Article says all of the federal "homeland security" / border security money disappeared. No wonder Republicans like the program -- it creates Haliburton corruption on a small scale.

[Kali]

2. it's a hamlet

and I love the way they describe Palomas, which is not a bad border town at all. It is a nice lower traffic place to cross (although coming back this way is kind of irritating)

[slackmaster]

6. I've always wanted to live in a hamlet, and get a job where my title is "fellow"

It would be great to be a fellow.

[chrisa]

3. What a beautiful Libertarian paradise

Truly in the vision of Ronald Reagan. No big government is going to oppress those poor people living there now!

[WatsonT]

4. Without a police force who will smuggle their guns for them?

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

5. The Puerto Palomas Police Force should be able to help

... for a price.

:hi:

[No Elephants]

7. If you can't starve the beast, just rob the beast.

I propose this for the GOP motto.