Roswell Daily Record
Albuquerque to revamp its police camera policy THE VOICE OF THE PECOS VALLEY
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ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — The Albuquerque Police Department has one of the largest caches of body cameras for a law enforcement agency of its size, and its policy for using those cameras is one of the toughest in the nation. It’s also nearly impossible to follow and is at the root of most disagreements between Police Chief Gorden Eden and the city’s independent review officer. That’s why department officials say a new policy for lapel cameras is being
December 27, 2014
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crafted and will be in place next year. “The officers, in certain situations, have a hard time complying with it,” Deputy Chief William Roseman told the Albuquerque Journal. “Hopefully, once we get a new policy in place. it will give (officers) a little more flex so common sense can come into play.” Albuquerque of ficials recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to overhaul the police force following more than 40 shootings involving
Camouflage cat
officers since 2010. Under the agreement, the city must provide better training for officers, but some critics say it should have come down harder on enforcement of camera policies. Since Eden became chief in February, Independent Review Officer Robin Hammer and her staf f have investigated citizen complaints and found 152 cases in which an officer violated a policy. Of those cases, Eden disagreed with the review officer 23 times.
Most of the disagreements were over camera policy violations, Hammer said. Under that policy, of ficers are required to record most interactions with the public in their entirety. Rudeness is the most common complaint, and often an investigation into rudeness led to uncovering a camera violation. “Ours is probably the strictest policy in the United States, and it’s not a policy that is implementable,” Roseman said.
Timothy P. Howsare Photo
We’ve all heard about wild animals like deer, grouse and polar bears that can blend in with their environments so they can be unseen by either predators or potential meals. But a domestic cat? This kitty was seen perched on a fence at a house on South Lea Avenue. Unless there are coyotes creeping about, there’s really nothing in the neighborhood that would prey on a cat — so maybe this sneaky feline was trying to make herself invisible from unsuspecting birds and squirrels.
“It doesn’t take in human factors from equipment failure to things just happening.” In addition to remembering to tur n on a camera during a fast-developing situation, city and police officials have raised concerns about other aspects of the policy. They have questioned how it affects victim’s privacy rights and how recordings affect discovery as criminal cases wind through courts. Officers also spend 15 percent to 20 percent of
their shift saving and logging lapel camera footage, officials said.
ALBUQUERQUE (AP) — George I. Sanchez regularly is left out of books on the civil rights movement. His role is seldom mentioned in studies on desegregation cases. Even people in his birth-state hardly know his name, though his imprint on New Mexico’s educational system still is felt today. A new biography seeks to change that. This month, Carlos Blanton released “George I. Sanchez: The Long Fight for Mexican American Integration.” He’s hoping the biography finally places the Latino scholar in his proper place among civil rights giants. A project that took more than a decade, Blanton wrote the book after combing through previously unknown letters, writings and materials to reconstruct the life of a man who was at the center of some of most important civil
rights moments in history. “I started this book only thinking of him as a cultural scholar,” said Blanton, a history professor at Texas A&M University. “Then, I found a civil rights activist.” Sanchez was bor n in Albuquerque in 1906. At 16, he worked as a public school teacher at a small rural school in Yrisarri, New Mexico. He became superintendent of the Bernalillo County school district six years later. That experience sparked his mission to reform the state’s educational system, particularly IQ testing of Latinos and American Indians, which he viewed as racially biased. Eventually, Sanchez became what would be equivalent to the state’s deputy secretary of education. His 1940 classic “Forgot-
Because of those concerns, the city in August approved $50,000 for the University of New Mexico to study the department’s camera policy. The study is expected to be finished next summer.
The community group APD Forward has said a strong lapel camera policy that requires most interactions to be filmed is crucial.
Book details life of ‘forgotten’ US Latino scholar
NMHD supervisor files Nelson to perform at Lea County Events Center whistleblower lawsuit
SANTA FE (AP) — A New Mexico Health Department supervisor says she has been targeted by the agency after complaining about understaffing in the division that certifies health care facilities to receive Medicaid funds. Amber Espinosa-Trujillo, the for mer head of the agency’s Health Facility and Licensing Certification Bureau, filed a whistleblower lawsuit in state court this week. Her attor ney told the Santa Fe New Mexican that Espinosa-Trujillo was demoted after she complained about a shortage in personnel to review hospitals and other health care sites. A state Health
Department spokesman said policy prohibits public statements about personnel matters and pending litigation. Espinosa-T rujillo says her superiors refused to hire full-time employees for at least half of the division’s 50-plus budgeted full-time employee positions. She also accused them of methodically wasting money by hiring private contractors at rates more than twice what a regular state employee would cost. Espinosa-Trujillo worried the staf fing deficiency would lead to improper certification of facilities, which could potentially deprive See LAWSUIT, Page A3
AP Photo
In this file photo taken on Wednesday, April 23, California Highway Patrol officer Armando Garcia explains to immigrants the process of getting a driver’s license during an information session at the Mexican Consulate, in San Diego. TODAY’S FORECAST
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Country music legend Willie Nelson will perform Friday, Jan. 2, at the Lea County Events Center. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m. and is part of the concert venue’s Hobbs Road Trip Concert Series. So far, B.B. King, Alan Jackson, Gabriel Iglesias, Phillip Phillips, Larry the Cable Guy and, most recently, Chris Isaak, have been featured in the series. The series ends April 10 when progressive rock band Foreigner takes the stage. Now 81, Nelson is widely recognized as an American icon, not only as a musician who has worked with just about every country
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twanger in Nashville and a few rock stars to boot, but also as an actor who has appeared in more than 30 films. He also is an activist who supports American farmers and the legalization of marijuana. Nelson was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1993 and he received the Kennedy Center Honors in 1998. In 2011, he was inducted to the National Agricultural Hall of Fame, for his labor in Farm Aid and other fundraisers to benefit farmers. He has released a new album with his sister, Bobbie, called “December Day — Willie’s Stash — Volume 1.” Tickets are on sale now at hobbsroadtrip.com.
California gears up for migrant driver’s licenses Nelson
LOS ANGELES (AP) — While tens of thousands of immigrants living in the country illegally are gearing up to apply for a longsought driver’s license in California starting Jan. 2, others are being urged to think twice. Immigrant advocates say the vast majority should be able to get licensed without trouble but they want anyone who previously obtained a driver’s license under a false name or someone else’s Social Security number to speak first with a lawyer, fearing a new
application could trigger a fraud investigation. The same applies to immigrants with a prior deportation order or criminal record because federal immigration officials and law enforcement can access Department of Motor Vehicles data during an investigation. The advice isn’t meant to frighten immigrants from seeking licenses that are meant to make their lives easier — especially because many already risk getting ticketed or having their car impounded simply by driv-
ing to work or taking their children to school. “For the vast majority of people, getting a license is a good decision,” said Alison Kamhi, staff attorney at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center. “At the same time, I think it is important people are aware there is some risk.” The nation’s most populous state is preparing to start issuing driver’s licenses to immigrants in the country illegally in a bid to make the roads safer and ease fears for more than a million people to get behind
• SHIRLEY NESSE • CECIL SCOT HAYS • ALLAN DRAKE
• ROBERT STEWART FREDERICK
CLASSIFIEDS ..........B7 COMICS .................A7 ENTERTAINMENT .....B6 FINANCIAL ..............B3
TODAY’S OBITUARIES PAGE B3
the wheel. California’s program eclipses the scope and scale of those approved in nine other states, including Nevada, Colorado and Illinois. The state hopes to avoid pitfalls faced elsewhere such as long wait times and high failure rates on the written test by hiring more staff, updating test preparation materials and hosting 180 workshops to tell immigrants what they must do to apply. California is also requirSee LICENSES, Page A3
INDEX GENERAL ...............A2
HOROSCOPES .........A8 LOTTERIES .............A2
OPINION .................A4
SPORTS .................B1
WEATHER ..............A8