Board: Council should pick investigators

Letter on videos sent to APD Chief Eden

The head of the Police Oversight Board said in a letter to Police Chief Gorden Eden that the civilian oversight group wants the City Council, and not the city attorney, to pick the independent investigators to look into allegations that police altered videos.

Civilian oversight members asked there be a competitive process to determine what company will do the investigation.

Chairwoman Beth Mohr said the group wants Ed Harness, the executive director of the Civilian Police Oversight Agency, to be part of the selection of the investigators and have some oversight during the investigation. Civilian oversight officials also said they want the FBI and New Mexico State Police to be asked to launch a criminal investigation in the matter to determine if any police officers broke any laws, like tampering with evidence.

Police oversight board members voted on Wednesday night for Mohr to make such a request.

“Due to the urgent nature of our requests, we need an immediate response, rather than the 45 days your office normally takes to respond to our letters,” Mohr wrote to Eden. “If we fail to receive a prompt response, or if our requests are denied in whole or in part, we will determine the next appropriate actions, with the assistance of our independent counsel.”

City Attorney Jessica Hernandez in an emailed statement said she agrees with the POB on the importance of an independent inquiry.

“For that reason, the City Attorney’s Office, the City’s Inspector General, and the City’s Office of Internal Audit met earlier this week to discuss a coordinated effort to identify forensic computer experts that possess the necessary technical expertise as well as the necessary independence,” she said, adding that Harness and a Police Oversight Board member also contributed names to the list of potential experts.

“We are ensuring that independent oversight entities, such as the Inspector General, Office of Internal Audit, CPOA, and POB, are involved in the selection of the independent investigator to ensure public confidence in the process,” she said.

Mohr’s letter comes in response to a sworn affidavit filed in court by the former police records custodian that alleged Albuquerque police edited or altered videos. Reynaldo Chavez, the former employee who was fired last year, said that some videos from high-profile shootings indicate that videos had been tampered with.

City officials have contended that they maintain original videos from the incidents in question.

Chavez’s affidavit was filed in court as part of an ongoing lawsuit brought by the family of 19-year-old Mary Hawkes against the city. Hawkes was fatally shot in April 2014. The officer who shot her was wearing a lapel camera but didn’t make a video. Videos from other officers on scene at the time of the shooting appeared to be altered, made blurry or had sections deleted, Chavez said in the affidavit.