Albuquerque Newsdesk

Medical school dean testifies in whistleblower lawsuit

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On the second day of a whistleblower trial against the state’s flagship university, the dean of the University of New Mexico’s medical school took the stand to testify concerning allegations that the hospital discriminated against a woman who says she was unlawfully fired after telling her superiors a fellow medical student raped her. UNM School of Medicine Dean Dr. Paul Roth testified that he does not remember being told   resident Dr. Cynthia Herald reported the attack.  When asked by Herald’s attorney Lisa Curtis if he would normally want to be notified of such an instance, Roth answered with two simple words. “Very likely,” Roth said. Previously: Whistleblower suit against UNM over rape allegation begins

Roth also confirmed to Curtis that, previously in his career, he reprimanded someone for sexual misconduct that happened off campus and during off hours.

Featured

Mayoral candidate won’t say if he will award contracts to his current employer

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Almost every election includes questions about donors’ intentions and if a winning candidate would give special treatment to one in exchange for the biggest contribution. But sometimes a candidate’s day job can raise questions about how he or she will conduct business as mayor—and if old employers will get preferential treatment. Mayoral candidate Brian Colón, for example, works at the prominent Albuquerque legal firm Robles, Rael & Anaya P.C. The firm has received large city contracts in two different administrations and is staffed with a former city attorney, a former Bernalillo County attorney and a number of former assistant city attorneys. Robles, Rael & Anaya has decades of combined experience in city matters, perhaps the most of any law firm in the city. Colón recently indicated in an email to NM Political Report that he would not cancel city legal contracts with his current employer if he were elected as mayor.

2nd Judicial District Attorney

DA will not retry officers in Boyd shooting

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Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez announced Friday afternoon his office would not reopen the case against former Albuquerque Police Department  officers Dominique Perez and Keith Sandy. The announcement came almost three months after Torrez took office and two months after he announced a special task force of prosecutors would review the case. In a press conference Torrez said both the task force and two attorneys from his office came to the same conclusion—that there was no evidence to show that a new trial would result in a new outcome. “There is no reason to believe the case against officers Sandy and Perez could be tried better or more exhaustively at a second trial or that a second jury could reach a different outcome than the first,” Torrez told reporters. The decision to not prosecute signals the end to a nearly-two year legal battle.

Albuquerque Newsdesk

Murder charge against one ex-APD officer dropped

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Special Prosecutor Randi McGinn on Monday dismissed the second-degree murder charge against former Albuquerque police officer Dominique Perez, who was accused of fatally shooting homeless camper James Boyd in March 2014. McGinn filed a one-page motion in state District Court in Albuquerque to dismiss the case “without prejudice,” which means that incoming District Attorney Raul Torrez could refile the charge if he chooses to after he takes office on Jan. 1. McGinn said she couldn’t comment on why she dismissed the charge against Perez, but she did add that the second-degree murder charge against former officer Keith Sandy remained in place and that Torrez will have to decide on whether to retry Sandy. McGinn said she spoke last week with Perez’s attorney, Luis Robles, about her intent to dismiss the charge against his client.

Albuquerque Police Department

Affidavit: ABQ police have illegally deleted, altered videos of shootings

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Albuquerque Police Department officials have altered and, in some cases, deleted videos that showed several controversial incidents, including at least two police shootings, the department’s former records supervisor has alleged in a sworn affidavit. Three officers’ body camera videos that captured events surrounding the fatal shooting of 19-year-old suspected car thief Mary Hawkes in April 2014 were either altered or partially deleted, according to former APD employee Reynaldo Chavez’s nine-page affidavit. Also alleged is that surveillance camera video from a salon showing APD officers shooting Jeremy Robertson, a law enforcement informant and suspected probation violator, in June 2014 bore “the tell-tale signs that it has been altered and images that had been captured are now deleted. One of the deleted images captured the officers shooting Jeremy Robertson.”

This piece originally appeared at NM In Depth and is reprinted at NM Political Report with permission. Chavez also said that ‘SD cards’ from cameras were easy to make disappear, and that he witnessed Assistant Chief Robert Huntsman say ‘we can make this disappear’ when discussing a particular police camera with an SD card in it, according the affidavit.

James Boyd

APD officer, former detective will face trial over killing of homeless man

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Judge Neil Candelaria ruled Tuesday that there is probable cause to go forward in the trial of two Albuquerque Police Department officers, one who has since retired, who shot and killed a homeless man. Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy will face trial on charges of second-degree murder and lesser charges. The two will be the first Albuquerque Police Department officers to be charged for an on-the-job shooting. Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day. The naming of a trial date and arraignment will take place at a later date.

Albuquerque Newsdesk

City to pay Boyd family $5 million

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The city of Albuquerque is in for a hefty bill to pay for the wrongful death of a homeless man police killed in 2014. Last Friday, attorneys for the family of James Boyd announced that the city agreed to a settlement payment of $5 million in a wrongful death lawsuit. In March 2014, police surrounded and shot Boyd, an unarmed homeless man who had been camping illegally in the Sandia foothills. A video of the shooting went viral, leading to several protests in Albuquerque and plenty of national media coverage. Still, Albuquerque Police Department Chief Gorden Eden’s initially responded that the shooting was justified.

Albuquerque Newsdesk

Officers who shot homeless man facing 2nd degree murder charges

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A special prosecutor charged two Albuquerque Police Department officers who shot and killed a homeless man with second degree murder. The special prosecutor, Randi McGinn, filed the charges on Monday. Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez will also face voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault charges in the death of James Boyd. The charges allege that Sandy and Perez “did kill James Boyd without lawful justification or excuse and without acting upon sufficient provocation while knowing that his acts created a strong probability of death or great bodily harm to James Boyd.” The shooting happened last year after Boyd was illegally camping in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.

Albuquerque Newsdesk

McGinn named special prosecutor in Boyd shooting case

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District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announced that an Albuquerque attorney will be the special prosecutor in the case related to the shooting of a homeless man by Albuquerque police. Randi McGinn will be the special prosecutor in the James Boyd shooting case, Brandenburg announced on Thursday morning. A district court judge ruled last week that Brandenburg could not prosecute the case because of an “appearance of conflict of interest.” In January, Brandenburg announced murder charges against James Boyd and Dominique Perez, two officers charged for the murder of James Boyd. The two shot Boyd, a homeless man who was illegally camping in the Albuquerque foothills.