ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A six-month deployment of the New Mexico National Guard in Albuquerque will come to an end this week.
Operation Zia Shield, which placed about 70 Guard members in the city beginning in June, is scheduled to conclude Friday. The Guard’s role was largely supportive, handling administrative and logistical tasks so Albuquerque police officers could spend more time on patrol and making arrests.
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said the operation achieved its primary goal of increasing enforcement, but he emphasized it was never intended to be a long-term solution to the city’s crime problems…