URGENT ACTION NEEDED
Action Needed: Send an Email, Sign Petition, Attend Public Hearing
Link to Petition: https://chng.it/xZhyRPK9r4
The New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board has the authority to investigate police misconduct and suspend/revoke law enforcement certification, removing a dangerous law enforcement officer from the workforce statewide. This Board is getting ready to promulgate rules that govern its operation and has indicated a desire to NOT accept citizen complaints, and to NOT investigate complaints against Police leadership. The petition asks the Board to include citizen complaints and police leadership within its scope of action as a matter of legislative intent and public policy. The Board has 30 days to respond to the linked petition making this request, and has a public meeting to consider the request on June 12th.
The Trump administration recently rescinded federal oversight of police nationwide, leaving this NM Board’s oversight as our only protection against police corruption and misconduct. We need as much citizen voice at the June 12th meeting as possible.
HOW YOU CAN HELP!!
- Send an email supporting the petition to the following list of Board members: crogers@serpeandrews.com; etoadlena@gallupnm.gov; mhutchinson@co.eddy.nm.us; tromero1984@comcast.net; policechief@taospueblo.com; carly.huffman@dps.nm.gov; jpw@newmexicolawgroup.com; juliea.ball@lopdnm.us; myersd@sanjuancollege.edu; bobbiej@bobbiej.com; rguay@nmdoj.gov
Subject Line: I support the Citizen Initiative Petition to the Certification Board at June 12th Meeting
- Sign the petition at link by June 11th https://chng.it/xZhyRPK9r4
- Attend the Board meeting in Santa Fe on June 12th, attend the 9 am Board Meeting at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy located at intersection of Cerrillos Road and Jaguar, park in upper lot off Jaguar, and you will be directed to the room for the meeting once you enter the Academy lobby. The Board accepts public comment at the beginning of the meeting, but you will need to sign the sign-up sheet at the entrance to the meeting.
- If you are interested in watching the meeting or participating on zoom, the zoom link will be posted the day before or the morning of the meeting at https://www.lea.nm.gov/law-enforcement-certification-board/board-meetings/
BACKGROUND & REASON FOR THIS CITIZEN INITIATIVE
Law enforcement misconduct investigation has generally been conducted within local agencies. At least since 2015, state law authorized state level investigation of misconduct, and action against law enforcement certificates/licenses has been conducted by the NM Law Enforcement Academy Board (LEA Board), a body made up of members appointed by the Governor and chaired by the Attorney General. While nominally an “independent body”, the LEA Board was staffed by Department of Public Safety (DPS) staff, generally assigned to the Law Enforcement Academy. It was never set up as an independent body with its own budget, staff, and resources. In 2022, the legislature passed HB 68 in the final days of the session, splitting the LEA Board, into two new independent bodies: the Law Enforcement Certification Board, and the Law Enforcement Standards and Training Council. That legislation included very limited information about either body, its scope of authority, or information needed for its implementation. In 2023, a citizen group (Indivisible SOS Santa Fe) worked with DPS and others in the law enforcement community, to develop more detailed legislation that would guide implementation of the HB 68 version. This bill was sponsored by Senator Maestas, and was passed by both chambers and signed by the Governor as SB 19. It is SB 19 language and legislative intent that is the basis for the attached petition.
Since passage of SB 19, neither the LECB, nor the Standards and Training Council, were formally set up as independent agencies, under Department of Finance and Administration protocols as intended by law. Neither body has initiated any rule making to develop rules under which the new bodies will operate as required by law. As a result, both bodies continue to operate under the old LEA Board rules, which are both out-of-date, and inappropriate for the scope of the new bodies. The “LEA-90” form and process predates the most recent LEA Board legislation, and has been relied upon for some time by local agencies to handle complaints against law enforcement personnel. Reporting police agency actions based on LEA-90 forms to the LEA Board and now to the LECB, has been required but not enforced and there were no consequences for failure to report until SB 19 was passed.
Recent events have revealed the barriers to independent investigation and adjudication of law enforcement misconduct complaints, that are still in place in NM.
- DPS failed to set up the LECB with the DFA as an independent body creating a clear conflict of interest.
- LECB only hired its own CEO late summer/fall 2024, and recently fired him in a public meeting in March after the DPS Secretary and a number of police chiefs, using the police chief’s association in the Municipal League, made a public campaign to get him fired. All of this was poorly, and possibly illegally handled.
- The LECB is left without a staff leader and resources to do its work. The LEA Academy director recently resigned, and had been the only DPS leader with competency to screen and handle complaints in preparation for LECB meetings, even with the conflict of interest.
- The remaining LECB staff are assigned to DPS but have no meaningful supervision. The files are on DPS premises, with potential access by DPS personnel, which is not permissible under the law.
- Two complaints exist on law enforcement leaders that have not been handled: one on Chief Medina of ABQ-PD, and one on Secretary Bowie.
- At its March meeting, the LECB co-chair proposed that the LECB did not have jurisdiction to review civilian complaints that don’t come through the LEA-90 process and should limit its work to LEA-90s. In public comment and through a presentation by a member of the public, the LECB was told that taking such a position is not consistent with or supported by any law, and advised to seek assistance in clarifying its scope of authority from the Attorney General. The proposal to limit scope to LEA-90’s was tabled to obtain further advice.
This petition is a direct response to this most recent effort by the LECB to not take responsibility for citizen complaints that are filed against law enforcement leaders. Handling complaints such as those against Medina, and Bowie is clearly within the legislative intent and language of current law, and all rules and procedures need to be updated to comply with the current legal requirements.
Until the LECB can operate as an independent body without conflict of interest, and until it clarifies its responsibility for all law enforcement licenses in NM regardless of rank or agency, there will be no legitimate investigation or adjudication of law enforcement misconduct in NM and no accountability to the public.
