Attorney General Gary King (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
The N.M. Law Enforcement Academy Board is holding an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss Attorney General Gary King’s handling of discipline cases involving law enforcement officers, KRQE-TV in Albuquerque is reporting.
From the news station:
“Those on the state board evaluating these officers want to question the Attorney General’s Office in an emergency meeting, scheduled for Tuesday and listed on the agenda as ‘Ineffective Prosecution by Attorney General’s Office.’”
The issue, according to the Albuquerque Journal, is that “At least 60 police officers statewide who have been disciplined by the departments they work for – some even fired – are still licensed to carry badges and guns.”
From Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz, as quoted by the Journal:
“My understanding is that some of the (academy’s) hearing officers are concerned that the cases being brought forward against officers aren’t being presented in the most efficient manner. The AG’s Office is not as prepared as the hearing officers think they should be. So we called this meeting to get input from the hearing officers. We want to make sure the citizens of the state of New Mexico don’t have to worry about someone who shouldn’t be a police officer patrolling the streets of their communities.”
But according to a second Journal article, “Chief Deputy AG Al Lama said the AG’s Office has had problems getting the academy’s investigators to provide information to prosecutors for administrative hearings.”
“I’m not trying to say we have no role or involvement in trying to make this better,” The Journal quoted Lama as saying. “That would be foolish. … The way to resolve the problem, make positive changes and move forward is to understand that it’s not just the prosecutor or the director, but it’s a process designed to afford the individual officer due process.”
You can watch KRQE’s report here, and read the Journal articles here and here.