Police letter goes viral

A tongue-in-cheek open letter Wednesday from the Tucumcari Police Department that urged drug dealers to turn in competitors attracted attention from news outlets and went viral on social media.

The letter, initially printed on the department’s letterhead and later shared on Facebook, stated: “Attention Drug Dealers!!!!!! I do realize we do not normally see eye to eye, but here at the Tucumcari Police Department, we are always striving to improve community relations. That also includes YOU!

“Do you have a competitor who is stealing your clients? Would your pockets be that much fatter if they weren’t around? You’re in luck! Answer the following questions and return the form to us at your convenience, and we will assist in their apprehension.”

The letter included fill-in-the-blank spaces for the competitor’s name, vehicle, phone number, store hours, what the competitor sells and “fun facts we should know about by competitor but not listed above.”

“This service will be provided 100% FREE OF CHARGE (you’re welcome). As always, you may call us at (575) 461-2160 if you have any questions in completing this form,” the letter stated and included a postscript in smaller type: "This is completely legit and in no way a farce. Farce means fake ... this is not fake."

A Facebook post that included an image of the original letter drew almost 300 comments and was shared more than 1,700 times.

TV stations in Albuquerque picked up the story, and a newspaper in Charlotte, North Carolina, also reported on it.

Tucumcari Police Cpl. Max Farren, who runs the department’s social media, said colleague Sgt. Shaun Slate came up with the idea of the open letter.

Farren said after a difficult week where the department helped investigate a murder-suicide in Tucumcari, “we wanted to cut through the tension and make people smile.”

Farren said one resident came to the police station to take a stack of copies of the letter so he could distribute them.

By Friday afternoon, Farren said no one had contacted the TPD on what he admitted was “tongue-in-cheek” offer.

“I wish it were that easy to wrap (such cases) up,” he said.