‘Ongoing investigation’ not valid as blanket denial of requests
Advocates cheer high court’s decision, which stemmed from lawsuit filed by brother of man killed by police in ’14
Law enforcement agencies in New Mexico cannot issue a blanket denial of a request for public records tied to an active criminal investigation, the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday.
The decision — being hailed by advocates as a win for government transparency — overturns rulings by two lower courts that found the state’s Inspection of Public Records Act allows agencies to withhold documents until an investigation is complete.
The Administrative Office of the Courts issued a news release Tuesday that said “the justices concluded that a district court interpreted the IPRA exception too broadly and wrongly dismissed” a man’s request for records in a fatal police shooting.
The state Court of Appeals had upheld the District Court’s decision.
The justices’ ruling came more than two years after Andrew Jones filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Public Safety, alleging it had refused to release records related to an Albuquerque police shooting that killed his brother, James Boyd.
Boyd, who was homeless and struggling with mental illness, was killed in March 2014 at his makeshift campsite in the Sandia Foothills, surrounded by heavily armed officers. Video of the slaying ignited outrage.
Former Albuquerque officers Dominique Perez and Keith Sandy were charged with second-degree murder in Boyd’s death, but their case ended in a mistrial.
Jones requested records on the shooting from New Mexico State Police, but the Department of Public Safety denied the request, saying the shooting was still under investigation by the FBI.
The department gave Jones some of the records about nine months later.
Jones’ attorney, Adam Flores, said in
an interview Tuesday he was very pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision and called it “a victory for public access to records about police misconduct and police brutality statewide.”
Justice Barbara Vigil wrote in the court’s decision, “Instead of focusing on whether there was an ongoing investigation, our Legislature was concerned with the specific content of the records.
“Only ‘law enforcement records that reveal confidential sources, methods, information or individuals accused but not charged with a crime’ are exempt from the general IPRA inspection requirement,” she wrote.
The Supreme Court’s ruling “is significant because it makes clear that ‘ongoing investigation’ is not a basis for withholding records,” the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government said in a statement Tuesday.
“Also, it’s significant that the court reinforce that it’s not a defense to say that federal law enforcement is also investigating the criminal matter,” the organization said.
Foundation Executive Director Melanie Majors said the court’s decision alleviates any confusion about the law.
“We are fighting the same battle over and over again,” she said.
In an email, Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said the department does not refuse to release records in active criminal investigations and does not use a “blanket exemption” to deny records requests.
“The department will review the new opinion from the New Mexico Supreme Court to ensure its practices are in line with the ruling,” Valdez said.
Juan Ríos, a spokesman for the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office, said it intends to fully comply with the decision.
“The sheriff ’s office will consult with the county’s legal department to ensure that our agency is in complete compliance with the court’s decision,” Ríos wrote in an email.