Rivalries between police officers and firefighters are not uncommon — usually just lighthearted fun among public safety workers. But the animosity between Santa Fe police Sgt. David Webb Jr. and city firefighter Jeffrey Valdez is genuine, creating a yearslong personal conflict that intensified this week.
Valdez, 27, was arrested by state police Tuesday after Webb Jr. reported that the firefighter had violated a permanent injunction against him that a judge granted the officer in 2013. After Valdez was released from the Santa Fe County jail Wednesday, he, in turn, filed an application for a restraining order against the officer.
The situation raises questions about how public safety would be affected if both men responded to the same emergency. Valdez has to remain 100 yards away from Webb Jr., as well as the officer’s house and his workplace, and he is required to leave a public place when the officer is present, according to the injunction.
Santa Fe Police Chief Patrick Gallagher declined to comment on the case, and an assistant fire chief said he trusted Valdez to perform his job appropriately if the two happened to arrive at the same emergency scene.
It isn’t clear what started the problems that led Webb Jr. to apply for the injunction against Valdez in October 2013. In his initial application for a temporary restraining order, Webb Jr. accused Valdez of challenging him to a confrontation through a third party.
According to the document, Valdez sent text messages about the challenge to a woman, who then showed them to the officer. About a month later, the document says, Webb Jr.’s teenage son told him Valdez had hit him in the ear. State police responded to the incident, and Valdez refused to cooperate, the document says. About a week later, Webb Jr. says in the application, Valdez followed him as he dropped off his son at Capital High School.
In court documents filed last month, Webb Jr. accuses Valdez of violating the injunction by showing up at Capital High School, sitting down and smoking a cigarette just 2 feet away from Webb Jr.
Valdez’s application for a temporary restraining order against Webb Jr. accuses the officer of using police department resources to intimidate him. And on May 22, the document says, Webb Jr. convinced his wife to use her vehicle to “obstruct” him in the parking lot of Capital High School. The firefighter says he has videos, text messages, photos and voice recordings to support his claims that the officer threatened him.
Gallagher responded through a spokesman to questions about how the case could affect Webb Jr.’s job.
“The Chief says this is a personal matter between two city employees and is not commenting beyond that,” Greg Gurulé, the spokesman, said in an email.
Assistant Fire Chief Jan Snyder said the city fire department is aware of the permanent injunction against Valdez, and his bosses are “monitoring the situation.” They have talked to Valdez about the case, Snyder said, but they haven’t launched an internal investigation.
Snyder said there hasn’t yet been a case in which both men have been called to the same scene. If that happens, Snyder said, he has “confidence that [Valdez] would perform his duties in the best manner.”
Valdez, who has been with the fire department since 2008, didn’t return a phone message from The New Mexican seeking comment. Webb Jr., who has been with the police department since 2007, declined to comment and referred a reporter to court documents related to his restraining order against Valdez.
Contact Uriel Garcia at 505-986-3062 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @ujohnnyg.
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