No more police free funeral escorts

By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer

GALLUP —The Gallup Police Department is no longer offering free funeral escorts due to a lack of man power.

The department stopped offering the free service about 60 days ago, but is in negotiations to resume the service, but for a fee.

City Manager Eric Honeyfield said the department initially discontinued the program due to a shortage of police officers. He also said the officers often have more urgent duties such as responding to calls for assistance.

"I would much rather officers be used for DWI checkpoints or more legitimate law enforcement assignments," Honeyfield said.

He said officers who worked as funeral escorts could not respond to calls for assistance and were required to stay with the procession. He said the department was also forced to pay additional costs for the officers' overtime work.

"Police officers are expensive creatures," Honeyfield said.

Joe Diaz, a local resident, also began to offer funeral escorts as part of a deal with local mortuaries. However, Diaz was out of town and could not immediately be reached for comment.

"We don't, whenever possible, compete with private business," Honeyfield said.

Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a spokeswoman for the Gallup Police Department, said officials are in talks to reinstate the program, but at a cost. She said the suggested fee is about $100 per officer, the same amount charged for a private funeral escort. However, figures are not set.

Jenny Gaze, Rollie Mortuary's owner, said her funeral home gives its clients the option to hire Diaz to escort their families to and from the funeral home.

However, Gaze said motorists do not respect private escorts as they do certified police officers whose units are marked and come equipped with colored lights.

She also said she's seen near accidents, including a head-on collision and side swipes, when private citizens serve as escorts rather than police officers.

If given the option, Gaze is certain families will choose police officers as funeral escorts.

"I'm 98 percent sure they would go with the police department because of safety concerns," she said.

She said police officers are a more reliable option for her business because private residents often go out of town at the time a funeral is planned.