Cop of the Year?

Meet Sam Costales, part of the Albuquerque, New Mexico Police Department.

In 2006, Costales was present at a roadblock set up by the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department SWAT team, after a carjacking investigation turned into a gunfire-laden, high-speed chase.

The roadblock also happened to be set up in the neighborhood of race car driving legend Al Unser, Sr. Here’s the initial news report of what happened as Unser approached the roadblock:

While the incident was still unfolding, Bernalillo County sheriff’s investigators allege Al Unser started going through a roadblock in an attempt to get to his property. Despite six or seven warnings to leave the area, he still refused to leave, saying it was his property–he owned it.
When the deputy told him he would be arrested, Unser allegedly said, “You can’t take me to jail,” and began cussing at the officer.

Officers report he then jerked away and said, “Don’t you know who I am? I’m Al Unser.”

A short time after he was arrested, Bobby Unser showed up. Deputies said he, too, refused to leave and resisted arrest.

Both were transported to holding cells at the Valley substation before being taken to jail.

“They simply told them numerous times to leave the area, and they simply refused to do so,” Erin Kinnard of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department said. “Were not talking about a situation where we’re trying to catch a shoplifter.

“This was a serious and dangerous situation.”

KRQE News 13 was told Al Unser threatened the arresting officer, telling him he would get back at him some day.

Unser of course said that’s not the way it happened. He says the officers were rude to him, refused to tell him why he couldn’t drive home, then pulled him out of his car and tossed him into a thorn bush before arresting him for resisting arrest.

Costales is a cop with the Albuquerque Police Department, not the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, so he initially remained silent, and wasn’t interviewed as part of the investigation. But he was later contacted by a private investigator for the Unser family. That’s when he explained what he saw. His version of events were a lot more like the Unsers’ than the sheriff’s deputies.

Costales said he heard “yelling and screaming” after deputies stopped Unser’s vehicle.

“They were running and screaming at the driver, ‘Get the hell out of here,”‘ Costales said. “It bothered me. People have a right to know what’s going on. An explanation would clear them out quickly.”

Three or four deputies were involved in the confrontation, he said.

At one point, Costales said, Unser turned his vehicle around as if to leave as deputies continued yelling at him. Unser stopped and stepped out of his vehicle with his hands outstretched, he said.

Costales said it appeared that one deputy then made a shoving motion toward Unser.

“I thought, ‘This is getting out of hand,”‘ he said.

Costales testified that Unser got back in his truck and started to leave, and that he heard a deputy say, “That’s it, you’re under arrest.”

“They swung open his door, they grabbed him and threw him face down on the ground into a sticker patch,” Costales said.

The Albuquerque officer said he heard Unser tell officers as he was lying on the ground that he had an injured shoulder.

Asked by defense attorney Charlie Daniels if Unser was resisting, Costales replied, “No, sir, there were three of them on top of him.”

Costales added, “There was a right way of doing things and a rude and hateful way of doing things. I think they chose the latter.”

After Costales’ testimony, Unser was acquitted on all charges."

If it wasn't a wealthy Unser no one would have cared, and the courage of Officer Costales would have gone unnoticed.

Thank you, Officer Costales, for defending the Constitution. Now lets just hope we don't have to donate to the Officer Costales Memorial Fund.