[Editor's Note: This was sent to me by the author, as he wanted it posted, with further comments from him at the bottom..]

Good evening, members of the Silver City Town Council. First of all, I would like to apologize for only coming to see you when there is a problem. I'm sure that you would like to look out and see me in the audience and not wonder, why is he here ? I would also like to thank all of you for being willing to serve on this council.

Around 6:30 in the morning on Thursday, May 14th, an accident occurred on Highway 90 between a Silver City police vehicle and a bicyclist. The cyclist, a 65-year-old highly experienced bike rider and a retired medical doctor, was critically injured and was flown by helicopter from the scene to a trauma center in El Paso. He is a friend of mine, with whom I worked for many years at Gila Regional Medical Center. Fortunately, although he is still in rehab, it appears that he will make a full recovery.

Now, almost a month later, there has still been no story in the Silver City Press, and only a brief note in the Grant County Beat regarding this accident. Many Silver City residents believe that this story has been suppressed because it involves a law enforcement officer. Rumors circulate that the officer involved was a new-hire, still on probation, off-duty, that he was coming off of a 12 hour night shift and was driving a police cruiser to his home in Lordsburg. I requested the State Police report two weeks ago but have received nothing from them. In addition, this incident was not listed in the weekly Silver City Police log as published in the Grant County Beat.

Undoubtedly there will be a major lawsuit against the City as a result of this accident, but that does not justify the news blackout that appears to have been imposed on this story. A bicycle versus car accident, with helicopter evacuation of the injured cyclist would normally be front page news if any vehicle other than a police cruiser was involved. If our police chief has the State Police accident report, he should release it to the press unless he is also suppressing this story.

Several other questions deserve answers. Why was this incident not listed on the Silver City police log ? Why does the City allow an officer from Lordsburg to use a police unit to drive home ? I understand and agree with the decision to allow officers who live in Tyrone to use city vehicles to travel to and from work, but Lordsburg is a completely different story.

It is past time to shed some light on this incident.

My comments at tonight's Silver City Town Council meeting are above. They were very well-received by everyone. I spoke with the police chief and the mayor separately after the meeting. The chief said that the State Police investigation is still on-going and that no report has been released. He also said the State Police still have the Silver City police vehicle that was involved in the accident. He was very forthcoming, and he did not dispute anything that I had said, except that there was no suppression of the story. He also confirmed that the officer involved did live in Lordsburg, and that the department also has at least one officer living in Deming who uses a patrol vehicle to drive to and from work. The Chief volunteered to meet with me in a week for an update but said that only the State Police could release the report to me or to the media. The mayor had heard of the accident, but that several city council members may not have been aware of it. Hopefully more details will come to light soon.

Dr. Mark Donnell

Silver City, NM