BFPD chief retires after 20 years with department

BOSQUE FARMS — A familiar face is leaving the Bosque Farms Police Department after two decades of public service.

BFPD Chief Andew Owen announced his retirement from the department and law enforcement at the Feb. 19 village council meeting.

“It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the citizens of Bosque Farms the last 20 years,” Owen told the council last week. “Since July 2020, (the department has) made great strides in improving our technology, efficiency, recruitment and retention. I have worked tirelessly and diligently to make this the best small department in New Mexico.

“This group of men and women have dedicated themselves to the department, and are far better trained than officers at other departments. It was a difficult decision to make ... the dedication of the officers and support of the community truly has made this the best department in New Mexico.”

The chief said his last day would be Friday, March 13, and acting Lt. Jason Adams would be “taking the reins” to make sure there was a smooth transition.

“I want to thank (former) Mayor Wayne Ake, (former) Mayor Russ Walkup and Mayor Chris Gillespie for their support, and I want to thank the citizens, because they are truly special,” he concluded.

On Saturday, Feb. 21, Owen officially announced his candidacy for the Valencia County Magistrate Judge Division III position on his personal Facebook page.

According to the website for the Republican Party of Valencia County, Owen, Eric Montano, Vanessa Aragon, Denise Vigil and Y. Danielle Gonzalez intend to file for candidacy for the Division III seat on Tuesday, March 10. In a January Facebook post, incumbent Division III Judge Desiree Sichler announced she was not running for the position again.

Democratic Party of Valencia County Chairwoman Summer Ludwig confirmed Rorik Rivenburgh is planning to file as a candidate for the seat.

Since he was five, the career paths Owen wanted to pursue were firefighter or police officer.

“Way back in the day, there were two ways to be a cop — a four year (college) degree or four years of service (in the military),” he remembers.

After watching his older brother struggle through four years of college working two full-time jobs, Owen joined the U.S. Marine Corps at 17 years old. What was supposed to only be four years in the Marines turned into 10 and-a-half years of service.

His last duty station was with Marine One, traveling the world in support of the president, and several missions put him at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque.

Owen said he made friends in New Mexico, including some of his fellow Marines from the area. He met his wife, Nicole, who is from Albuquerque, and when it came time to leave the service, “I had a choice to make and going back to eight feet of snow in the winter was not appealing,” Owen said of his hometown of Madison, South Dakota. “So, we came here.”

He joined the department in 2006 and in July 2020, Owen was named interim chief after the departure of former BFPD Chief Paul Linson. Owen was appointed chief in September 2020.

Before applying for the chief position, Owen said he thought back to his time in the Marines.

“The whole premise was to do my four years and get out. That was my path to be a police officer,” he said.

When orders came down he didn’t like, he and a corporal had a very candid conversation.

“He said, ‘There’s two choices. Just follow the orders and we’ll get it done. If, in the future, you want to change it, get off your ass and promote. Then you can be the one to make the change, to give the orders,” Owen said. “When I started here, that was kind of my goal every day — making a difference in someone else’s life. Not just in the community, but within the department.”

To support his officers as a chief Owen was always willing to do anything he asked of his officers, whether it was covering a shift when someone was sick or juggling paperwork and critical incidents.

Training has always been a core tenant of the department and there’s recently been emphasis on leadership training, with all of the department’s supervisors completing an eight-week online course on the supervision of police personnel.

“Now officers are taking that as well. I want them to be well rounded,” he said. “When they come in, I want them to know it’s not just the chief in his office again. When they see our budget reports, they understand our annual budget. The legislation I’m looking at, they understand it’s relevant to them and ask questions.”

Keeping his officers informed and making sure they have a say in how the department operates, from purchasing new equipment to forming policy, has been key to how Owen has run the department.

“It’s always about getting the officers to have that buy in because it’s their department,” he said. “When everything goes right, they did a wonderful job. When something goes wrong, I will fix it. That’s what a leader does.”

As for the next chief, Owen said they need “a servant’s heart” for the work and an understanding of officer support.

“When you take care of the officers, the officers will take care of the citizens and that is the goal,” he said.