Street cops making more than the mayor

Albuquerque, NM {KRQE} - Street cops pulling in $50,000 to $60,000 in overtime -- doubling their salaries. They're making more money than the mayor. Some officers are taking home more than $100,000.

News 13 asked for a list of the highest paid employees in the city, and noticed some people near the top of the list are street cops.

There are 12 patrol officers and sergeants who made over $100,000 in 2010, half of them took home more pay than the mayor, who earns $106,000. Some doubled their salary with overtime pay, like Sgt. Joshua McDonald.

McDonald who took home $56,000 extra in 2010. Sgt. Paul Heh made $50,000 in overtime. Officers Troy Luna racked up $39,000 in overtime. Sgt. Bret white wasn't far behind at $35,000. The overtime king -- a street cop named Jared Frazier -- raked in $63,000 in overtime.

“It's almost always officers who work the field and the DWI unit and make the most DWI arrests [who work the most overtime,]” Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz said.

Officer Daniel Carr made the most DWI arrests for APD in 2010, and he had a $56,000 overtime bill.

Chief Schultz said he plans for big paychecks.

“The department has a general fund overtime budget of $8.6 million. So, about 7 percent of every dollar we spend is in overtime, and of course, the biggest overtime component for us seems to be court.”

Officers sometimes have to go to court several times for just one DWI case.

Then there are cops who pick up jobs on the side, and take home what’s called "Chief’s overtime." That's where businesses hire officers to work security and pay back the city. Schultz said long shifts aren't taken lightly.

“The officers who make the most overtime those timesheets actually have to come up for my approval.”

The chief said overtime has actually gone down. In 2009, the department spent more than $9 million in extra pay.

Graveyard shift officers scheduled to testify in court even get paid overtime as they wait for the courts to open.