Updated: APD says PIO was given incorrect information on dead girl
The Albuquerque Police Department says its PIO Simon Drobik had incorrect information when he told members of the news media that police had not been called about 1-year-old Anastazia Zuber when the really had been called--back in December.
APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Drobik had quoted a missing persons bulletin which said that police had not been called about the girl.
Here's Gallegos' statement:
"Officer Drobik, as well as news media, quoted from the missing persons bulletin issued overnight on Jan. 2. That bulletin read:
“The last mention of the child was on December 18, 2018, when her father, DJ Zuber, told his mother Eva, that the baby had drowned in the bath tub. Police were not called, and cannot confirm if the child is alive or safe.”
"The statement, “Police were not called” in the bulletin was unclear and inaccurate, and should have said police were not called by the parents at the time of the alleged drowning.
"Although APD must get information about missing persons out as quickly as possible, the bulletin should not have contained any information about police contacts on the case until that information was thoroughly reviewed.
"At the current time, APD is aware of two calls to police on Dec. 18 – one from a relative, and an anonymous call. Both callers expressed concern because they had not seen the child with the parents, although neither call reported a drowning or death. Police responded to both calls. The Internal Affairs investigation ordered by Chief Geier will determine whether policies were followed since police were first notified about the missing child.
"APD is reviewing internal controls to ensure that future bulletins are vetted and do not contain incorrect information so that the department’s spokespersons are not placed in this position again."
Has another Albuquerque Police Department spokesman lied to the news media? Just like the department's spokespeople lied to the media in the Victoria Martens case? And is it now PIO Simon Drobik who can't tell the truth?
You decide.
On Jan. 2, Police Department PIO Drobik told the Albuquerque Journal that police had not been called—I repeat, had not been called—in regards to now-dead 1-year-old Anastazia Zuber, who police were looking for at the time.
(Photo: Simon Drobik)
But according to the Albuquerque Journal, in a criminal complaint filed Friday against the girl's parents, APD detectives said the girl's grandmother had called police on Dec. 18, 2018 to say that her son had told her that the baby girl had drowned in a bathtub. The criminal complaint said that an APD officer had gone to the home of the girl's parents to do a welfare check on the girl.
Two totally different stories. Who do you believe? The detectives, or Drobik?
Here's an excerpt from the Journal's Jan. 2 story, and Drobik's comment:
“ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Police are looking for an Albuquerque family that disappeared two weeks ago after the father told relatives his baby daughter had died.
Albuquerque police spokesman Simon Drobik said David “D.J.” Zuber told his mother that on Dec. 18 his 1-year-old daughter, Anastazia Zuber, had drowned in the bathtub.
“Police were not called and cannot confirm if the child is alive or safe,” he said.”
Let's repeat Drobik's comment:
“Police were not called and cannot confirm if the child is alive or safe.”
Here are some excerpts from the Journal's Jan. 4 story on the Zuber girl:
“ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two weeks after Albuquerque police were told of the possible death of a 1-year-old girl, officers found the baby buried in the backyard of a Northeast Albuquerque home Friday and arrested her parents.
Police announced that the family and baby were missing on Wednesday, after a relative told them on Dec. 18 that the father claimed to have drowned the girl.
David Zuber, 26, and Monique Romero, 23, are facing several charges, including child abuse resulting in the death of their daughter, Anastazia Zuber, said Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Simon Drobik.
Police say Romero told detectives that the baby drowned after being left alone in the bathtub with her other child at a Northeast Albuquerque apartment sometime last month. Detectives exhumed the girl’s body after Zuber told them where he buried her. …
“The day Zuber’s mother called police, an officer did a welfare check on the baby at a Northeast Albuquerque apartment, but Romero told the officer the baby was with her sister, according to a criminal complaint filed Friday. At that point, the baby was still missing, and it’s unclear why police did not seek the public’s help in finding the family sooner.”
Let's sum it up.
On Jan. 2, Drobik tells the Journal that police had not been called in regards to the Zuber girl. But on Jan. 4, APD detectives say that police had been called on Dec. 18, 2018, and that a welfare check had been conducted by an officer.
Remember Victoria Martens. Two APD PIOs said that police had been to Victoria's apartment before she had been brutally murdered and that they found nothing amiss. But later we learned that APD officers had never responded to a referral about Victoria from the state's Children, Youth and Families Department.
The two PIO's in Victoria's case lied to the news media.
Did Simon Drobik lie to us? If so, why?
Mayor Tim Keller and Police Chief Mike Geier: what the hell is going on at the Albuquerque Police Department?
