City ordered to pay fired officer $12K
Judge: ABQ violated public records law by not giving copy of report to Jeremy Dear
A state district judge has found the city of Albuquerque violated the state’s public records law and owes an estimated $12,500 to a controversial police officer who sought an Albuquerque Police Department Internal Affairs report of an investigation related to his fatal shooting of a 19-year-old woman in 2014.
After a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Shannon Bacon ordered APD to turn over the report requested by former officer Jeremy Dear, who is appealing his termination from the department.
The police department in August replied to Dear’s request under the Inspection of Public Records Act by saying it was “excessively burdensome and broad” and asked for additional time to complete its search of the IA Report No. 99-14.
Dear’s attorney Thomas Grover in a subsequent email asked for an explanation of how “a single file is any way “excessively burdensome and broad,” but he told the Journal on Thursday that he received no explanation and decided to take the matter to court when no records were produced.
Grover also questioned APD’s response that some content from the file might have to be redacted.
Under the state’s public records law, a party is entitled to damages, costs and attorneys’ fees if successful in a court action to enforce the law.
Grover said the law provides for damages of up to $100 a day, which he said would amount to about $9,000. Grover said his attorney’s fees are an additional $3,500.
City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said in an email, “This report involved unique issues related to an internal affairs investigation that wasn’t yet
complete because the department had already terminated Jeremy Dear’s employment.”
The city in a court filing in November contended it had met its obligations and had been responsive and cooperative in handling the request.
Dear, who was involved in one of APD’s most controversial fatal shootings, was reinstated to his job in November 2015 on a 3-2 vote of the city’s Personnel Board — a decision denounced by the city’s chief administrative officer as “crazy.”
The action overturned APD Chief Gorden Eden’s decision to fire Dear, whose lapel camera was unplugged and did not record his fatal shooting of Mary Hawkes after a foot chase in April 2014. Dear said the young woman, who had been suspected of driving a stolen truck before officers pursued her on foot, had pointed a gun at him.
Eden has said an internal affairs investigation into Dear’s overall lapel camera use found that Dear didn’t make a recording on many of the calls he was on, even though he had been ordered to record every encounter with citizens.
He was fired for alleged consistent noncompliance with the policy rather than any specific conduct in the Hawkes shooting.
Dear disputed that he had been given such an order and appealed his termination. The city’s personnel board reversed Dear’s termination.
The city appealed the board’s decision to district court, where Judge Clay Campbell wanted to know why the board ruled against the city. He ordered the board to provide him an explanation for its decision to overturn Dear’s conviction, including informing him of what specific evidence the board used to reach its decision.
IA File released
In response to Bacon’s order, Albuquerque police released the internal affairs file on Thursday to all parties who had filed an IPRA request for the document, which included the Albuquerque Journal, said APD spokeswoman Celina Espinoza.
Grover, in his court case seeking the records, contended the city and APD have withheld the report “for no justified reason other than it contains information and statements by high ranking APD officials that are in conflict with public statements by those officials.” The city cited ongoing personnel, civil lawsuits and a potential criminal investigation of the matter as grounds for its response.
Hawkes’ family has filed two lawsuits seeking damages for the shooting. One was filed against the city, arguing that it was negligent, and another lawsuit filed this week against Dear accuses him of violating Hawkes’ civil rights.
The documents and records released Thursday state that Dear, a sergeant and another officer on the scene didn’t make recordings the night of the shooting.
The records also include crime scene photos, police reports and a phone call interview between several Taser executives and Albuquerque police Sgt. Scott Norris, who worked in internal affairs, and Sgt. Tony Simballa.
Dear said his camera came unplugged and didn’t record, according to a transcript of an interview he gave to homicide detectives shortly after the shooting.