New police chief in Torreón promises to end quotas in the corporation

From Torreón and Matamoros, Coahuila; the director of the Torreón Municipal Police and the head of the Torreón Reaction Group.

Alfredo Flores Originales, who has 15 years of police experience, is originally from the municipality of Matamoros, Coahuila, and will be serving as the Municipal Public Security Director.

Andrés Antonio Torres Padilla, born in Torreón, Coahuila, has 11 years of police experience and will be serving as director of the Torreón Reaction Group (GRT) within the Municipal Public Security Directorate (DSPM).

Both agents, specialized in combat and intelligence, received their appointments on the morning of Tuesday, April 29, on the seventh floor of the City Hall, in the presence of Torreón Mayor Román Cepeda and Attorney General Federico Fernández.

In his opening remarks, Alfredo Flores said the priority is to address the needs of municipal officers so they can work at full capacity and lack nothing. He asserted that the quotas reportedly being requested from the officers have been exhausted.

"The officers are asking for uniforms, gasoline, and various other things, and the first thing I want to do is sit down with them to see what we can do quickly. If we can't, I'll ask the mayor for support. I think the corporation's review could take around two months, with the availability of the necessary equipment, but the quotas won't. Those can't continue."

Alfredo Flores has an extensive police career. He began as a member of the State Police and later served as head of the Reaction Group in Saltillo. He then served as deputy director of the intelligence area. Before taking over as director, he served as commander of the Investigative Police Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC).

It should be noted that Flores Originales had held a position as a liaison between the state police and the Municipal Public Security Directorate, so he worked with the preventive elements for four months, which allowed him to survey the city, considering that he is originally from La Laguna.

"We know the Municipal Police's security model, and we also have the Reaction Police model. We have good projects, and we're going to do our part to ensure the work flows smoothly, with the support of the mayor, who is fully willing to help us. We come to work, and we can't let ourselves down," said the director.

Regarding the security model, Alfredo Flores commented that he already has some proposals that include addressing the issue of fights in bars and troubled neighborhoods, all this in coordination with the State Police and the National Guard.

For his part, GRT director Andrés Antonio Torres Padilla commented that he will seek to work under four central axes, including coordination, security, enforcement, and prevention.

"I need to analyze the situation, listen to my colleagues' requests and ideas, as well as the work model they've been implementing, and then present it at the various working groups. We're going to work together in coordination, under four priority areas: coordination, security, enforcement, and prevention, as the State Attorney General, the Governor, the Undersecretary, and the Mayor have been proposing," he noted.

Torres Padilla has 11 years of police experience, and his training was within the ranks of the State Police. He previously served in the Southeast Reaction Group (GRS) in Saltillo. His last position was Undersecretary of Intelligence for the State Public Security Secretariat.