After police were ambushed last week, commissioner defends security strategy

Puerto Rico Police Commissioner Joseph González Falcón

By The Star Staff

Puerto Rico Police Commissioner Joseph González Falcón on Tuesday defended the tactical response of officers ambushed by motorcyclists during an incident in Santurce’s Barrio Obrero last Thursday.

González asserted that the Police Bureau’s current security strategy is working, and reporting a decrease in homicides, carjackings and fatal accidents.

“My priority is for our police officers to get home alive,” González said at the Police Bureau’s Hato Rey headquarters. “I will never question how an officer reacts to a situation like this. Mocking their actions is unacceptable. There’s no room for criminals here.”

González said the two officers stopped by the motorcyclists executed a “tactical retreat,” which has been used in other jurisdictions in the United States to protect officers’ lives. He added that there has currently been a reduction of 52 homicides, 15 fatal accidents, and 72 carjackings compared to the previous year.

Meanwhile, Highway Patrol Division Director Capt. Elvis Zeno Santiago reaffirmed the police force’s commitment to road safety.

“As long as these all-terrain vehicles remain illegal on the roads, we will continue to intervene,” he said. “It’s not a threat; it’s reality. We’re saving lives.”

The press conference followed incidents reported over the weekend, including an ambush in Santurce and a chase in Río Grande where two municipal police officers were injured after a motorcyclist pointed a firearm at them.

In response to the rise in cases of this nature, Gov. Jenniffer González Colón announced the creation of a committee to evaluate the use of all-terrain vehicles on the island. The inclusion of figures such as Rey Charlie, a spokesperson for motorcycle groups, has generated controversy. The governor responded that her priority is to “listen to those who bring solutions, even if they have had run-ins with the law.”

“The rules are the rules, and as long as the law doesn’t change, we will continue to intervene,” Zeno Santiago reiterated.