Investigation sought in APD video charges
Police Oversight Board OKs formal investigation requests
Allegations that Albuquerque police have altered or deleted police videos — specifically in controversial shooting cases — have raised questions about what the public and independent oversight groups know about some of the most high-profile shootings in recent years, Police Oversight Board members say.
Board members voted Wednesday night to make two formal requests for investigations into the allegations:
One by either the FBI or New Mexico State Police to determine whether any officers violated laws, such as tampering with evidence.
Another by an independent expert who could determine whether any administrative rules were broken.
City officials have said they plan to hire an independent investigator to look into the allegations.
Police Oversight Board Chairwoman Beth Mohr said that, although she isn’t yet certain whether the allegations are true, they are severe accusations made against the police chief and high-ranking members of the police administration. She said, if
proven to be true, she could envision the board possibly calling for Police Chief Gorden Eden or others to resign.
“We’re not there yet, I don’t think,” she said during the meeting.
The meeting was held in the wake of recent allegations by a former employee who said that, since 2013, certain Albuquerque police units and the command staff have received training on how to edit police videos.
Reynaldo Chavez, who was the police records custodian until he was fired in August 2015, filed a nine-page sworn affidavit in court where he made the allegations.
He said certain officers were instructed not to write police reports until the videos they recorded had been reviewed. If there were “problematic” images for the department, the officers were told to indicate in their reports that their camera had malfunctioned.
Chavez said videos made at the time of the fatal shootings of Mary Hawkes and Jeremy Robertson were altered. Chavez’s affidavit was filed as part of a lawsuit the Hawkes family has brought against the city.
City and police officials have contended that original copies of all police video are saved in their entirety and edits have been made only to copies.
The Civilian Police Oversight Agency, which is independent of city government, and the Police Oversight Board, whose members are chosen by the City Council, are tasked with reviewing the administrative investigations that Albuquerque police conduct in response to police shootings.
To complete their review, the groups have to review police videos of the events. Chavez’s allegations have raised questions about what is learned from those reviews, especially if the videos have been altered.
“If Mr. Chavez’s allegations have validity, it brings into question everything that is reviewed by this body,” Ed Harness, the director of the CPOA, said at the meeting.
A letter recently released by the city accuses Chavez of sexual harassment. The claims against him had been made about a year and a half ago, but the letter wasn’t released until shortly after Chavez’s affidavit about video tampering.
Mohr said she will write letters calling for multiple investigations into the alleged video alterations.
“We all hope that it’s not true, but we can’t ignore the allegations that have been made,” she said.
After news of Chavez’s allegations broke, top police and city executives originally said they would do their own investigation into the matter. But then officials said an independent group would be chosen for the review.
After Wednesday night’s special meeting, City Attorney Jessica Hernandez said the city has worked in the past week to put together a list of possible vendors that could complete such a review. She said no company has been hired.
“We want to make sure it’s someone with the expertise and the independence that everyone is looking for in this,” she said.