LOCATION TO COMMEMORATE ANDRES ARELLANES

SM012

SENATE MEMORIAL 12

57
th legislature
- STATE OF NEW MEXICO -
second session
, 2026

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

A MEMORIAL

REQUESTING THE GENERAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT, THE DEPARTMENT OF
TRANSPORTATION AND THE STATE PARKS DIVISION OF THE ENERGY,
MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT TO IDENTIFY AND
RECOMMEND A PUBLIC LOCATION TO COMMEMORATE THE LIFE AND WORK OF
SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CIVIL RIGHTS ADVOCATE ANDRES "DRE"
ARELLANES.

WHEREAS, Andres Arellanes, who died in 2023 at the age of
thirty-six, was a proud native New Mexican who fought bravely
and tirelessly as a social justice advocate for civil rights
and police reform and against the unlawful use of force by law
enforcement; and

WHEREAS, in July of 2010, Andres Arellanes settled a civil
rights lawsuit with the city of Albuquerque over an incident
that occurred in 2007 in which he was confronted on the street
in downtown Albuquerque by a group of city and state law
enforcement officers and was tasered at least six and up to
eighteen times and then charged with assault against law
enforcement officers. Those charges were eventually dismissed
after an official independent review determined that officers
involved in the incident lied to a grand jury; and

WHEREAS, after that incident, Arellanes and his family
worked tirelessly as advocates against unlawful police violence
and for reform of use-of-force policies by law enforcement,
leading to significant reforms in those policies not only in
Albuquerque, but also at the state and national levels; and

WHEREAS, the efforts of Andres Arellanes and his family to
secure justice in his case, along with other similar efforts
that followed, caused the United States department of justice
to investigate the use of force by the Albuquerque police
department, which eventually led that agency to investigate law
enforcement use-of-force standards and procedures nationwide,
and helped lead to reforms on the local, state and national
levels, particularly as those standards apply to taser use of
force; and

WHEREAS, in 2021, following widespread public attention
focused on the issue of police violence and use of force by law
enforcement and a movement that was sparked by the advocacy and
social justice work of Andres Arellanes and other victims of
unlawful police violence, the United Nations issued new
guidelines and procedures for use of force and firearms by
United Nations police, and those standards have had a
significant impact on law enforcement policies worldwide; and

WHEREAS, the advocacy and social justice work of Arellanes
and his family over many years took courage to accomplish, has
led to substantial changes to the use-of-force policies in
local, national and international police departments and has
likely helped save countless lives across the United States and
around the world;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE
OF NEW MEXICO that the general services department, the
department of transportation and the energy, minerals and
natural resources departments each be requested to identify and
recommend to the legislative finance committee a location, such
as a state park, campground, roadway, landscaped area in front
of a state building or other appropriate location, to
commemorate the life and work of Andres "Dre" Arellanes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be
transmitted to the legislative finance committee, the general
services department, the department of transportation and the
energy, minerals and natural resources department.

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