By Jeff Proctor, Journal Staff Writer
The Albuquerque Police Oversight Commission wants all allegations and complaints against senior APD officials— including the evidence room scandal— to be investigated by the city's top police watchdog.
"We believe we are the appropriate agency to investigate any complaints against captains and above," Independent Review Officer Jay Rowland said.
The seven-member citizen commission on Friday sent a letter to APD Chief Gilbert Gallegos, recommending he change the department's standard operating procedures to expand the Independent Review Office's purview.
As it is, the IRO investigates only citizen complaints against officers and police shooting cases, then reports to the commission.
Gallegos said Friday the commission doesn't need to get involved in the matter because the state Attorney General's Office is already investigating the evidence room, and the department is planning to hire an independent firm to conduct an internal investigation.
Last year, an anonymous memo surfaced, alleging that guns, drugs, cash and other evidence had been stolen from the evidence room. Last month, cleanup of a chemical leak in the room caused the destruction of numerous pieces of evidence in more than 200 drug cases.
And APD's own investigation into the evidence room has been criticized from within the department.
"The citizens of Albuquerque need these allegations and any other allegations against the chief or his senior staff to be investigated by an independent investigator that is outside APD and reviewed by the citizen oversight system," the letter to Gallegos states. "This system is designed to be outside the reach of politics and has been."
Gallegos said Rowland and the POC stepping in would undermine the work of the state AG's Office, which was has been investigating the evidence room for a year.
"We have a professional that is going to be doing the internal investigation, and the AG is doing the criminal investigation," Gallegos said. "They are perfectly capable of doing a professional investigation, and for us to think that they are not capable of that is very shortsighted."
Rowland said he doesn't expect Gallegos to heed the letter's recommendation. But he said he plans to look at the AG's and the internal investigators' findings.
Rowland said he will discuss those findings with Gallegos and report to the commission whether he thinks the investigations were fair and impartial.
Michael Cook, newly elected commission chairman, said the decision to enter the fray comes now because "this is the first time it's really come before us."
Cook said the Independent Review Office could investigate the evidence room, but he would also support another entity doing so as long as it's independent from APD.
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Saturday, February 12, 2005
City To Pay $943,380 in APD Rape Lawsuit
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
The dry precision of numbers capped an emotional 31/2-day trial Friday as a federal jury returned a verdict in favor of a woman who said she was raped by a police officer nearly three years ago.
The numbers reached into the high six figures, and they had a dollar sign attached. The eight-person jury awarded $69,880 in compensatory damages and $873,500 in punitive damages to Cynthia Seeley for civil rights violations by former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase.
City taxpayers will foot the bill.
The jury, which included a Clayton psychologist, a Raton teacher and a Sandia Labs employee among its ranks, returned its verdict after deliberating about three hours. They found Chase liable for substantive due process violations of Seeley, and for battery, assault and false imprisonment.
Chase, 30, faces trial in April on the criminal side of that equation. A lengthy indictment handed down in June 2003 charges him with the rape of Seeley and rape, battery, false imprisonment and tampering with evidence in cases involving 10 other victims. Chase declined comment as he and his wife quickly departed the courtroom.
Chase has denied the allegations.
Attorney Josh Harris, who with Greg Biehler is defending Chase in the civil litigation, also declined comment.
Seeley, 38, whose mother and adult son had watched the proceedings, sobbed after the verdict was read but made no statement to reporters.
Attorney Mary Han, who with Paul Kennedy represented Seeley, said the verdict was "extremely vindicating" for their client. Han said just being able to testify was a big step for Seeley, whose difficult personal history includes substance abuse problems, criminal convictions for conspiracy to commit forgery and cocaine trafficking a decade ago, and sexual abuse when she was a child.
"All she could think when they came back with the verdict was 'Oh my God, they believed me,' '' Han said. "I think all the victims in this case had to go through an assault in cross-examination."
Taxpayers will not only pay the $943,380 tab, but attorney fees as well. That consists of fees to Han and Kennedy as the prevailing party in a civil rights action, and attorney fees to Harris and Biehler.
"Frankly, I think you can sleep very well with that verdict," Conway told the jury in discharging them.
There are more costs to come in defending four pending lawsuits against Chase brought by other alleged victims.
The city would have preferred to admit liability and have a trial solely on the issue of damages, City Attorney Bob White said late Friday. But that call was Chase's to make, he said, because the city has a duty under state law to indemnify officers, and Mayor Martin Chávez announced a policy early in his administration of not settling police misconduct cases.
"Under the circumstances, I think we all think it's a fair verdict," he said. "Certainly in my mind there was no question about liability, it was a question about damages."
He noted the city had taken action to deal with the situation by firing Chase "when we became aware of activities in which he was involved." And he said no matter what policy the city had in place, it was looking at having to pay substantial damages on behalf of the officer.
"The way the mayor looks at it, where liability exists, he is not uncomfortable with the community making a decision on how much the plaintiff is entitled to," White said.
Seeley testified that Chase was among the officers who responded to her apartment after a neighbor called about a loud verbal fight between her and her girlfriend. The two were separated, with the suggestion that one of them leave to cool off. She said Chase offered her a ride, but took her to a parking area behind Bennigan's restaurant on Louisiana, threw her onto the seat of his police car and raped her. Then, she said, he threw her out of the car, tossed her purse after her and left her to walk home.
Harris said Seeley lied and that Chase was a victim of the "no good deed goes unpunished" variety, because he'd offered Seeley a ride.
"Chris Chase faces prison because of Cynthia Seeley's lies," he said.
Kennedy noted that only one of Chase's alleged victims had self-reported their encounters with Chase, and said the defense had branded them all, including two high school girls, as criminals.
But he also reminded the jurors of an instruction that permitted them to assume when Chase invoked his Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify that anything he said would be unfavorable to his case.
The dry precision of numbers capped an emotional 31/2-day trial Friday as a federal jury returned a verdict in favor of a woman who said she was raped by a police officer nearly three years ago.
The numbers reached into the high six figures, and they had a dollar sign attached. The eight-person jury awarded $69,880 in compensatory damages and $873,500 in punitive damages to Cynthia Seeley for civil rights violations by former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase.
City taxpayers will foot the bill.
The jury, which included a Clayton psychologist, a Raton teacher and a Sandia Labs employee among its ranks, returned its verdict after deliberating about three hours. They found Chase liable for substantive due process violations of Seeley, and for battery, assault and false imprisonment.
Chase, 30, faces trial in April on the criminal side of that equation. A lengthy indictment handed down in June 2003 charges him with the rape of Seeley and rape, battery, false imprisonment and tampering with evidence in cases involving 10 other victims. Chase declined comment as he and his wife quickly departed the courtroom.
Chase has denied the allegations.
Attorney Josh Harris, who with Greg Biehler is defending Chase in the civil litigation, also declined comment.
Seeley, 38, whose mother and adult son had watched the proceedings, sobbed after the verdict was read but made no statement to reporters.
Attorney Mary Han, who with Paul Kennedy represented Seeley, said the verdict was "extremely vindicating" for their client. Han said just being able to testify was a big step for Seeley, whose difficult personal history includes substance abuse problems, criminal convictions for conspiracy to commit forgery and cocaine trafficking a decade ago, and sexual abuse when she was a child.
"All she could think when they came back with the verdict was 'Oh my God, they believed me,' '' Han said. "I think all the victims in this case had to go through an assault in cross-examination."
Taxpayers will not only pay the $943,380 tab, but attorney fees as well. That consists of fees to Han and Kennedy as the prevailing party in a civil rights action, and attorney fees to Harris and Biehler.
"Frankly, I think you can sleep very well with that verdict," Conway told the jury in discharging them.
There are more costs to come in defending four pending lawsuits against Chase brought by other alleged victims.
The city would have preferred to admit liability and have a trial solely on the issue of damages, City Attorney Bob White said late Friday. But that call was Chase's to make, he said, because the city has a duty under state law to indemnify officers, and Mayor Martin Chávez announced a policy early in his administration of not settling police misconduct cases.
"Under the circumstances, I think we all think it's a fair verdict," he said. "Certainly in my mind there was no question about liability, it was a question about damages."
He noted the city had taken action to deal with the situation by firing Chase "when we became aware of activities in which he was involved." And he said no matter what policy the city had in place, it was looking at having to pay substantial damages on behalf of the officer.
"The way the mayor looks at it, where liability exists, he is not uncomfortable with the community making a decision on how much the plaintiff is entitled to," White said.
Seeley testified that Chase was among the officers who responded to her apartment after a neighbor called about a loud verbal fight between her and her girlfriend. The two were separated, with the suggestion that one of them leave to cool off. She said Chase offered her a ride, but took her to a parking area behind Bennigan's restaurant on Louisiana, threw her onto the seat of his police car and raped her. Then, she said, he threw her out of the car, tossed her purse after her and left her to walk home.
Harris said Seeley lied and that Chase was a victim of the "no good deed goes unpunished" variety, because he'd offered Seeley a ride.
"Chris Chase faces prison because of Cynthia Seeley's lies," he said.
Kennedy noted that only one of Chase's alleged victims had self-reported their encounters with Chase, and said the defense had branded them all, including two high school girls, as criminals.
But he also reminded the jurors of an instruction that permitted them to assume when Chase invoked his Fifth Amendment right and refused to testify that anything he said would be unfavorable to his case.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Ex-Cop Sex Case May Go to Jury
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
Jurors should begin deliberating today in a civil lawsuit filed by a woman who claims she was raped by Christopher Chase in 2002 while he was an Albuquerque Police Department officer.
After dismissing the jury for the day, Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway said he would consider a motion by Paul Kennedy, attorney for plaintiff Cynthia Seeley, to grant judgment as a matter of law in the case.
Judgment as a matter of law is rarely granted, because it means that even giving the defense every benefit, the plaintiff has proved its case so thoroughly it need not go to the jury. But Conway hinted broadly he was considering it.
"I don't think it's a close call, I'll tell you that," he said.
Because the city indemnifies its officers, judgments against the city ultimately will come out of taxpayers' pockets. Chase was fired from APD in June 2003.
Both plaintiffs and the defense concluded the second day of testimony late Thursday. The day started with two more alleged victims, both high school students at the time, describing their encounter with a man in an APD uniform and police car the night of Jan. 17, 2003.
Michelle Gallegos and Kelly Ham, both of whom have filed separate civil lawsuits against Chase, described being stopped near La Cueva High School while in Ham's car, which was being driven by one of four boys with them.
The officer told them he was stopping the car on suspicion of drunken driving, but he summoned the girls separately to his car.
He molested Gallegos and forced Ham to lower her pants, they testified.
Although the girls didn't identify Chase as the offender in subsequent photo arrays, the boys identified Chase and aspects of his squad car, Detective Monte Curtis testified.
Defense attorney Gregory Biehler called witnesses including Chase's wife, Darla, to suggest that APD's investigation had been slipshod. He said APD settled upon Chase with insufficient identifying descriptors and without considering other officers or impersonators with similar physical characteristics.
Biehler also called the APD officer who responded to a second callout to the apartment Seeley was sharing with a girlfriend. The officer said Seeley, crying as she sat on a stairwell, initially said she'd been raped by an officer, but later changed her story to say she'd met a man in a bar and had sex with him in his car.
But the officer acknowledged that for the second version of the story to work, Seeley would have had to walk to the bar, meet the man, have sex and return to the apartment within 30 minutes.
Jurors should begin deliberating today in a civil lawsuit filed by a woman who claims she was raped by Christopher Chase in 2002 while he was an Albuquerque Police Department officer.
After dismissing the jury for the day, Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway said he would consider a motion by Paul Kennedy, attorney for plaintiff Cynthia Seeley, to grant judgment as a matter of law in the case.
Judgment as a matter of law is rarely granted, because it means that even giving the defense every benefit, the plaintiff has proved its case so thoroughly it need not go to the jury. But Conway hinted broadly he was considering it.
"I don't think it's a close call, I'll tell you that," he said.
Because the city indemnifies its officers, judgments against the city ultimately will come out of taxpayers' pockets. Chase was fired from APD in June 2003.
Both plaintiffs and the defense concluded the second day of testimony late Thursday. The day started with two more alleged victims, both high school students at the time, describing their encounter with a man in an APD uniform and police car the night of Jan. 17, 2003.
Michelle Gallegos and Kelly Ham, both of whom have filed separate civil lawsuits against Chase, described being stopped near La Cueva High School while in Ham's car, which was being driven by one of four boys with them.
The officer told them he was stopping the car on suspicion of drunken driving, but he summoned the girls separately to his car.
He molested Gallegos and forced Ham to lower her pants, they testified.
Although the girls didn't identify Chase as the offender in subsequent photo arrays, the boys identified Chase and aspects of his squad car, Detective Monte Curtis testified.
Defense attorney Gregory Biehler called witnesses including Chase's wife, Darla, to suggest that APD's investigation had been slipshod. He said APD settled upon Chase with insufficient identifying descriptors and without considering other officers or impersonators with similar physical characteristics.
Biehler also called the APD officer who responded to a second callout to the apartment Seeley was sharing with a girlfriend. The officer said Seeley, crying as she sat on a stairwell, initially said she'd been raped by an officer, but later changed her story to say she'd met a man in a bar and had sex with him in his car.
But the officer acknowledged that for the second version of the story to work, Seeley would have had to walk to the bar, meet the man, have sex and return to the apartment within 30 minutes.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Fired APD Cop Takes the 5th in Sex Assault Case
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
Christopher Chase, the former police officer accused of using his position of authority to sexually assault a number of women, invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify dozens of times Wednesday in federal court.
Chase, a fresh-faced, clean-cut 30-year-old, was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department after a lengthy criminal indictment was returned in state court in June 2003. It charges him with criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
The criminal case has yet to go to trial.
But testimony Wednesday before Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway in a civil lawsuit by Cynthia Seeley had all the hallmarks of a criminal proceeding.
Seeley, who claims she was raped by Chase on Feb. 19, 2002, is seeking monetary damages. But other alleged victims and the police officers who investigated the case have been subpoenaed as witnesses.
On the witness stand, Chase answered some questions, like how old he was and whether he was fired by APD. He invoked his right not to incriminate himself when questioned about the allegations.
Three women who claim to have been assaulted by Chase did testify Wednesday and more are scheduled for today.
'I wanted them out'
Seeley, 38, testified that police had shown up to the Warren Coronado efficiency apartment she shared with a girlfriend after the couple's drinking spiraled into a quarrel so loud that neighbors called police. Because the fight was verbal rather than physically violent, officers suggested one of them leave the home to cool down.
Seeley did. She said Chase offered her a ride, only to take her to an alley a couple of blocks away and rape her in his squad car. He then threw her purse after her and drove off.
She walked back to her apartment, where her girlfriend insisted on calling police against Seeley's wishes after Seeley told her what had happened, she testified.
Seeley said that because she had failed to report to her probation officer and knew there was a warrant for her arrest, she was fearful of being arrested. So when police arrived a second time, she initially told them about the rape, but then took a woman officer aside and told her it wasn't true.
"I wanted them out," she said, crying as she testified. "I didn't want them asking questions."
She didn't reveal the assault until later, when she was undergoing an assessment at the women's prison in Grants and APD officers showed up to ask her about Chase. Seeley, who was convicted for conspiracy to commit forgery and trafficking in cocaine in the mid-1990s, eventually landed in a special program for women and has been involved in counseling for substance abuse.
A Las Cruces psychologist and former New Mexico State University professor who examined her in connection with the litigation, Elaine LeVine, said Seeley needs years more of intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and a major depressive disorder. She said the suspected rape exacerbated damage done by childhood trauma, including sexual abuse.
Two others testify
Also testifying Wednesday was Mitsey Ramone, a prostitute who said her previous numerous encounters with police had been straightforward until Chase twice pulled her over in 2001. Ramone said Chase took her to a solitary location off Gibson Boulevard and raped her. She said a second time he took her to Bullhead Park.
Ramone, too, lapsed into tears under cross-examination by defense attorney Gregory Biehler, who quizzed her about dates, her failure to report the incidents and the accuracy of her identification of Chase, given her admittedly poor eyesight.
"The point is I know who it is," she snapped back at one point. "I recognize people I come across, especially if they rape me."
Veronica Edwell, 29, a married mother of three and customer service employee for a medical company, told a similar story. She testified she had gone to a bar parking lot on Montgomery to see if her husband needed a ride home when she was stopped by an officer she later learned was Chase.
Edwell said the officer accused her of driving drunk, though she said she wasn't, and let her go. After circling the parking lot without seeing her husband's pickup, she was returning home when Chase again pulled her over.
Edwell said Chase asked her if she had any drugs or weapons and told her to get out of her vehicle and put her hands up on the side of it.
"He started checking me," she said. "When he got to my breasts, he said 'Do you have piercings?'" She said yes, and said that he asked "what I was going to do to get out of this DWI."
Edwell testified Chase pulled down her blouse and fondled her, but told her he wouldn't hurt her.
The investigation of Chase was launched after Edwell was pulled over on a speeding violation by another officer a few weeks later. She was so fearful that she would only crack the window to give the officer her license, and told the officer her trepidation was prompted by an assault by another officer. She was later contacted by an APD detective, she said.
Christopher Chase, the former police officer accused of using his position of authority to sexually assault a number of women, invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify dozens of times Wednesday in federal court.
Chase, a fresh-faced, clean-cut 30-year-old, was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department after a lengthy criminal indictment was returned in state court in June 2003. It charges him with criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
The criminal case has yet to go to trial.
But testimony Wednesday before Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway in a civil lawsuit by Cynthia Seeley had all the hallmarks of a criminal proceeding.
Seeley, who claims she was raped by Chase on Feb. 19, 2002, is seeking monetary damages. But other alleged victims and the police officers who investigated the case have been subpoenaed as witnesses.
On the witness stand, Chase answered some questions, like how old he was and whether he was fired by APD. He invoked his right not to incriminate himself when questioned about the allegations.
Three women who claim to have been assaulted by Chase did testify Wednesday and more are scheduled for today.
'I wanted them out'
Seeley, 38, testified that police had shown up to the Warren Coronado efficiency apartment she shared with a girlfriend after the couple's drinking spiraled into a quarrel so loud that neighbors called police. Because the fight was verbal rather than physically violent, officers suggested one of them leave the home to cool down.
Seeley did. She said Chase offered her a ride, only to take her to an alley a couple of blocks away and rape her in his squad car. He then threw her purse after her and drove off.
She walked back to her apartment, where her girlfriend insisted on calling police against Seeley's wishes after Seeley told her what had happened, she testified.
Seeley said that because she had failed to report to her probation officer and knew there was a warrant for her arrest, she was fearful of being arrested. So when police arrived a second time, she initially told them about the rape, but then took a woman officer aside and told her it wasn't true.
"I wanted them out," she said, crying as she testified. "I didn't want them asking questions."
She didn't reveal the assault until later, when she was undergoing an assessment at the women's prison in Grants and APD officers showed up to ask her about Chase. Seeley, who was convicted for conspiracy to commit forgery and trafficking in cocaine in the mid-1990s, eventually landed in a special program for women and has been involved in counseling for substance abuse.
A Las Cruces psychologist and former New Mexico State University professor who examined her in connection with the litigation, Elaine LeVine, said Seeley needs years more of intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and a major depressive disorder. She said the suspected rape exacerbated damage done by childhood trauma, including sexual abuse.
Two others testify
Also testifying Wednesday was Mitsey Ramone, a prostitute who said her previous numerous encounters with police had been straightforward until Chase twice pulled her over in 2001. Ramone said Chase took her to a solitary location off Gibson Boulevard and raped her. She said a second time he took her to Bullhead Park.
Ramone, too, lapsed into tears under cross-examination by defense attorney Gregory Biehler, who quizzed her about dates, her failure to report the incidents and the accuracy of her identification of Chase, given her admittedly poor eyesight.
"The point is I know who it is," she snapped back at one point. "I recognize people I come across, especially if they rape me."
Veronica Edwell, 29, a married mother of three and customer service employee for a medical company, told a similar story. She testified she had gone to a bar parking lot on Montgomery to see if her husband needed a ride home when she was stopped by an officer she later learned was Chase.
Edwell said the officer accused her of driving drunk, though she said she wasn't, and let her go. After circling the parking lot without seeing her husband's pickup, she was returning home when Chase again pulled her over.
Edwell said Chase asked her if she had any drugs or weapons and told her to get out of her vehicle and put her hands up on the side of it.
"He started checking me," she said. "When he got to my breasts, he said 'Do you have piercings?'" She said yes, and said that he asked "what I was going to do to get out of this DWI."
Edwell testified Chase pulled down her blouse and fondled her, but told her he wouldn't hurt her.
The investigation of Chase was launched after Edwell was pulled over on a speeding violation by another officer a few weeks later. She was so fearful that she would only crack the window to give the officer her license, and told the officer her trepidation was prompted by an assault by another officer. She was later contacted by an APD detective, she said.
Fired APD Cop Takes the 5th in Sex Assault Case
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
Christopher Chase, the former police officer accused of using his position of authority to sexually assault a number of women, invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify dozens of times Wednesday in federal court.
Chase, a fresh-faced, clean-cut 30-year-old, was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department after a lengthy criminal indictment was returned in state court in June 2003. It charges him with criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
The criminal case has yet to go to trial.
But testimony Wednesday before Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway in a civil lawsuit by Cynthia Seeley had all the hallmarks of a criminal proceeding.
Seeley, who claims she was raped by Chase on Feb. 19, 2002, is seeking monetary damages. But other alleged victims and the police officers who investigated the case have been subpoenaed as witnesses.
On the witness stand, Chase answered some questions, like how old he was and whether he was fired by APD. He invoked his right not to incriminate himself when questioned about the allegations.
Three women who claim to have been assaulted by Chase did testify Wednesday and more are scheduled for today.
'I wanted them out'
Seeley, 38, testified that police had shown up to the Warren Coronado efficiency apartment she shared with a girlfriend after the couple's drinking spiraled into a quarrel so loud that neighbors called police. Because the fight was verbal rather than physically violent, officers suggested one of them leave the home to cool down.
Seeley did. She said Chase offered her a ride, only to take her to an alley a couple of blocks away and rape her in his squad car. He then threw her purse after her and drove off.
She walked back to her apartment, where her girlfriend insisted on calling police against Seeley's wishes after Seeley told her what had happened, she testified.
Seeley said that because she had failed to report to her probation officer and knew there was a warrant for her arrest, she was fearful of being arrested. So when police arrived a second time, she initially told them about the rape, but then took a woman officer aside and told her it wasn't true.
"I wanted them out," she said, crying as she testified. "I didn't want them asking questions."
She didn't reveal the assault until later, when she was undergoing an assessment at the women's prison in Grants and APD officers showed up to ask her about Chase. Seeley, who was convicted for conspiracy to commit forgery and trafficking in cocaine in the mid-1990s, eventually landed in a special program for women and has been involved in counseling for substance abuse.
A Las Cruces psychologist and former New Mexico State University professor who examined her in connection with the litigation, Elaine LeVine, said Seeley needs years more of intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and a major depressive disorder. She said the suspected rape exacerbated damage done by childhood trauma, including sexual abuse.
Two others testify
Also testifying Wednesday was Mitsey Ramone, a prostitute who said her previous numerous encounters with police had been straightforward until Chase twice pulled her over in 2001. Ramone said Chase took her to a solitary location off Gibson Boulevard and raped her. She said a second time he took her to Bullhead Park.
Ramone, too, lapsed into tears under cross-examination by defense attorney Gregory Biehler, who quizzed her about dates, her failure to report the incidents and the accuracy of her identification of Chase, given her admittedly poor eyesight.
"The point is I know who it is," she snapped back at one point. "I recognize people I come across, especially if they rape me."
Veronica Edwell, 29, a married mother of three and customer service employee for a medical company, told a similar story. She testified she had gone to a bar parking lot on Montgomery to see if her husband needed a ride home when she was stopped by an officer she later learned was Chase.
Edwell said the officer accused her of driving drunk, though she said she wasn't, and let her go. After circling the parking lot without seeing her husband's pickup, she was returning home when Chase again pulled her over.
Edwell said Chase asked her if she had any drugs or weapons and told her to get out of her vehicle and put her hands up on the side of it.
"He started checking me," she said. "When he got to my breasts, he said 'Do you have piercings?'" She said yes, and said that he asked "what I was going to do to get out of this DWI."
Edwell testified Chase pulled down her blouse and fondled her, but told her he wouldn't hurt her.
The investigation of Chase was launched after Edwell was pulled over on a speeding violation by another officer a few weeks later. She was so fearful that she would only crack the window to give the officer her license, and told the officer her trepidation was prompted by an assault by another officer. She was later contacted by an APD detective, she said.
Christopher Chase, the former police officer accused of using his position of authority to sexually assault a number of women, invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify dozens of times Wednesday in federal court.
Chase, a fresh-faced, clean-cut 30-year-old, was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department after a lengthy criminal indictment was returned in state court in June 2003. It charges him with criminal sexual penetration, criminal sexual contact, kidnapping and tampering with evidence.
The criminal case has yet to go to trial.
But testimony Wednesday before Senior U.S. District Judge John Edwards Conway in a civil lawsuit by Cynthia Seeley had all the hallmarks of a criminal proceeding.
Seeley, who claims she was raped by Chase on Feb. 19, 2002, is seeking monetary damages. But other alleged victims and the police officers who investigated the case have been subpoenaed as witnesses.
On the witness stand, Chase answered some questions, like how old he was and whether he was fired by APD. He invoked his right not to incriminate himself when questioned about the allegations.
Three women who claim to have been assaulted by Chase did testify Wednesday and more are scheduled for today.
'I wanted them out'
Seeley, 38, testified that police had shown up to the Warren Coronado efficiency apartment she shared with a girlfriend after the couple's drinking spiraled into a quarrel so loud that neighbors called police. Because the fight was verbal rather than physically violent, officers suggested one of them leave the home to cool down.
Seeley did. She said Chase offered her a ride, only to take her to an alley a couple of blocks away and rape her in his squad car. He then threw her purse after her and drove off.
She walked back to her apartment, where her girlfriend insisted on calling police against Seeley's wishes after Seeley told her what had happened, she testified.
Seeley said that because she had failed to report to her probation officer and knew there was a warrant for her arrest, she was fearful of being arrested. So when police arrived a second time, she initially told them about the rape, but then took a woman officer aside and told her it wasn't true.
"I wanted them out," she said, crying as she testified. "I didn't want them asking questions."
She didn't reveal the assault until later, when she was undergoing an assessment at the women's prison in Grants and APD officers showed up to ask her about Chase. Seeley, who was convicted for conspiracy to commit forgery and trafficking in cocaine in the mid-1990s, eventually landed in a special program for women and has been involved in counseling for substance abuse.
A Las Cruces psychologist and former New Mexico State University professor who examined her in connection with the litigation, Elaine LeVine, said Seeley needs years more of intensive therapy for post-traumatic stress disorder and a major depressive disorder. She said the suspected rape exacerbated damage done by childhood trauma, including sexual abuse.
Two others testify
Also testifying Wednesday was Mitsey Ramone, a prostitute who said her previous numerous encounters with police had been straightforward until Chase twice pulled her over in 2001. Ramone said Chase took her to a solitary location off Gibson Boulevard and raped her. She said a second time he took her to Bullhead Park.
Ramone, too, lapsed into tears under cross-examination by defense attorney Gregory Biehler, who quizzed her about dates, her failure to report the incidents and the accuracy of her identification of Chase, given her admittedly poor eyesight.
"The point is I know who it is," she snapped back at one point. "I recognize people I come across, especially if they rape me."
Veronica Edwell, 29, a married mother of three and customer service employee for a medical company, told a similar story. She testified she had gone to a bar parking lot on Montgomery to see if her husband needed a ride home when she was stopped by an officer she later learned was Chase.
Edwell said the officer accused her of driving drunk, though she said she wasn't, and let her go. After circling the parking lot without seeing her husband's pickup, she was returning home when Chase again pulled her over.
Edwell said Chase asked her if she had any drugs or weapons and told her to get out of her vehicle and put her hands up on the side of it.
"He started checking me," she said. "When he got to my breasts, he said 'Do you have piercings?'" She said yes, and said that he asked "what I was going to do to get out of this DWI."
Edwell testified Chase pulled down her blouse and fondled her, but told her he wouldn't hurt her.
The investigation of Chase was launched after Edwell was pulled over on a speeding violation by another officer a few weeks later. She was so fearful that she would only crack the window to give the officer her license, and told the officer her trepidation was prompted by an assault by another officer. She was later contacted by an APD detective, she said.
Saturday, January 15, 2005
APD Chief Stands by Officer; Racial Profiling Accusation Made
By T.J. Wilham, Journal Staff Writer
Police Chief Gilbert Gallegos is claiming a Police Oversight Commissioner overstepped his bounds when he accused one of his officers of racial profiling.
The accused officer has called for commissioner J. L'Keith Jones, an Albuquerque minister, to resign.
Jones, who is black, said Friday he has no intention to resign from the commission and he still believes the white officer, Gerald Roach, was guilty of racial profiling.
"Racial profiling occurs every day, and I am a victim along with thousands of other people," Jones said. "There is not a day that goes by where a cop doesn't run my license plate or give me a look."
Gallegos said Friday he does not share Roach's opinion that Jones should resign. Gallegos stood behind his officer saying he has known Roach for 20 years and he is not biased.
"He continues to believe that this officer is a racist, and I believe that is wrong," Gallegos said.
During a November commission meeting, Jones said he was racially profiled when Roach stopped him for speeding and then arrested him on an outstanding warrant from Guadalupe County.
The warrant proved to be issued in error and the bond money Jones paid was returned to him.
Gallegos said the traffic stop was never officially investigated because Jones never filed a complaint with the department.
At a commission meeting Thursday, Roach and Gallegos attacked Jones, claiming he had made false accusations.
"Mr. Jones' comments have the potential of ruining my career, my family and family reputation," Roach told the commission. "It hurts more than just me being the target of his accusation. Mr. Jones slandered me in the media. I have been convicted of being a racist without so much of due process for our little incident."
Roach claimed he was not given an opportunity to comment in the Journal article, which was published Dec. 5.
Before publishing the article, the Journal made four attempts to contact Roach. He did not return phone calls.
After the story appeared, a letter from Roach was published.
On Friday, Roach could not be reached for comment. A message for Roach was also left with an APD public information officer.
After Thursday's meeting, Roach told KOAT-TV that he thought Jones should resign.
After Roach and Gallegos made their remarks to the commission, Joe Gutierrez, commission chairman, apologized to Roach.
Gutierrez said no other commissioner had anything to do with Jones' remarks.
Jones said he felt it was inappropriate for Gallegos and Roach to address the issue during a public meeting. He said Gallegos rarely attends the meetings.
Police Chief Gilbert Gallegos is claiming a Police Oversight Commissioner overstepped his bounds when he accused one of his officers of racial profiling.
The accused officer has called for commissioner J. L'Keith Jones, an Albuquerque minister, to resign.
Jones, who is black, said Friday he has no intention to resign from the commission and he still believes the white officer, Gerald Roach, was guilty of racial profiling.
"Racial profiling occurs every day, and I am a victim along with thousands of other people," Jones said. "There is not a day that goes by where a cop doesn't run my license plate or give me a look."
Gallegos said Friday he does not share Roach's opinion that Jones should resign. Gallegos stood behind his officer saying he has known Roach for 20 years and he is not biased.
"He continues to believe that this officer is a racist, and I believe that is wrong," Gallegos said.
During a November commission meeting, Jones said he was racially profiled when Roach stopped him for speeding and then arrested him on an outstanding warrant from Guadalupe County.
The warrant proved to be issued in error and the bond money Jones paid was returned to him.
Gallegos said the traffic stop was never officially investigated because Jones never filed a complaint with the department.
At a commission meeting Thursday, Roach and Gallegos attacked Jones, claiming he had made false accusations.
"Mr. Jones' comments have the potential of ruining my career, my family and family reputation," Roach told the commission. "It hurts more than just me being the target of his accusation. Mr. Jones slandered me in the media. I have been convicted of being a racist without so much of due process for our little incident."
Roach claimed he was not given an opportunity to comment in the Journal article, which was published Dec. 5.
Before publishing the article, the Journal made four attempts to contact Roach. He did not return phone calls.
After the story appeared, a letter from Roach was published.
On Friday, Roach could not be reached for comment. A message for Roach was also left with an APD public information officer.
After Thursday's meeting, Roach told KOAT-TV that he thought Jones should resign.
After Roach and Gallegos made their remarks to the commission, Joe Gutierrez, commission chairman, apologized to Roach.
Gutierrez said no other commissioner had anything to do with Jones' remarks.
Jones said he felt it was inappropriate for Gallegos and Roach to address the issue during a public meeting. He said Gallegos rarely attends the meetings.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Former APD Officer Facing Lawsuits in Suspected Assaults
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
The alleged criminal conduct of an accused rogue cop is testing Mayor Martin Chávez's policy of refusing to settle any lawsuits against the police department.
Chávez has steadfastly defended his policy of refusing to settle police cases.
But it hasn't stopped civil rights attorneys from filing lawsuits against former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase, 28, who has yet to be tried on criminal charges he stopped, harassed and in some cases raped a succession of motorists while on duty.
Chase was fired by APD after being named in a 32-count indictment with criminal sexual penetration and criminal sexual contact, kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, battery and tampering with evidence in June 2003.
Two civil suits were filed this week by attorneys Brad Hall and Frances Crockett on behalf of young women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Chase.
Hall already has taken one case to trial in federal court on behalf of a male high school student related to a top APD official and won $17,000 plus attorney fees.
Cynthia Seeley's lawsuit, filed by attorneys Paul Kennedy and Mary Han, is set for trial next month in federal court.
But Chase's attorneys are seeking to delay the civil case until the criminal matter is resolved. Chase's criminal trial is scheduled for March, but the Supreme Court has granted a trial extension until mid-July.
"By asserting his Fifth Amendment rights, (Chase) has been, essentially, unable to defend himself in the civil case," Greg Biehler, Chase's attorney in the Seeley lawsuit, said in seeking a trial delay from the federal court.
Biehler said in the absence of direct evidence, the case will come down to a test of credibility, and he says there is reason to suspect Seeley's.
"So long as the criminal trial is looming, defendant must assert his Fifth Amendment right in this case so that his defense in the criminal trial is not jeopardized," Biehler said.
Han and Kennedy say in a written response that while the city has a right not to settle civil rights cases, "its citizens have the right to proceed to trial in these cases in an expeditious manner."
"Cynthia Seeley has waited long enough. Whether the criminal case needs to be delayed for whatever reason, she's entitled to her day in court," Han said Wednesday.
In their written response, they note Chase, rather than asking for a delay at the outset, has "extracted every possible advantage via discovery and motions." They contend he has vigorously pursued information from Seeley while declining to provide any himself.
And they say their client has a significant personal interest in avoiding further psychological harm by bringing closure to the ordeal.
According to court records, Seeley alleges Chase responded to a domestic violence call, diverted Seeley as she left the home to "cool off," forced her into the back of his patrol car, drove to an alley behind a Northeast Heights hotel and raped her.
Plaintiffs in the new lawsuits make similar allegations.
Veronica Edwell claims that in January 2003, Chase took her into custody in his police car, handcuffed her, threatened her with sexual assault and fondled her.
It was because of Edwell that Chase's alleged misconduct came to light, the suit says. Weeks later she was stopped for a traffic violation by a different APD officer and would not roll down her car window more than two inches because of fear from the encounter with Chase, the suit says.
Kelly M. Ham alleges in a complaint that she was stopped on Jan. 17, 2003, while she was a passenger in a car being driven by a male friend.
Although no traffic violation occurred, Chase stopped the car near La Cueva High School and ordered two female occupants into the police car for a search, the lawsuit claims.
The alleged criminal conduct of an accused rogue cop is testing Mayor Martin Chávez's policy of refusing to settle any lawsuits against the police department.
Chávez has steadfastly defended his policy of refusing to settle police cases.
But it hasn't stopped civil rights attorneys from filing lawsuits against former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase, 28, who has yet to be tried on criminal charges he stopped, harassed and in some cases raped a succession of motorists while on duty.
Chase was fired by APD after being named in a 32-count indictment with criminal sexual penetration and criminal sexual contact, kidnapping, false imprisonment, assault, battery and tampering with evidence in June 2003.
Two civil suits were filed this week by attorneys Brad Hall and Frances Crockett on behalf of young women who claim they were sexually assaulted by Chase.
Hall already has taken one case to trial in federal court on behalf of a male high school student related to a top APD official and won $17,000 plus attorney fees.
Cynthia Seeley's lawsuit, filed by attorneys Paul Kennedy and Mary Han, is set for trial next month in federal court.
But Chase's attorneys are seeking to delay the civil case until the criminal matter is resolved. Chase's criminal trial is scheduled for March, but the Supreme Court has granted a trial extension until mid-July.
"By asserting his Fifth Amendment rights, (Chase) has been, essentially, unable to defend himself in the civil case," Greg Biehler, Chase's attorney in the Seeley lawsuit, said in seeking a trial delay from the federal court.
Biehler said in the absence of direct evidence, the case will come down to a test of credibility, and he says there is reason to suspect Seeley's.
"So long as the criminal trial is looming, defendant must assert his Fifth Amendment right in this case so that his defense in the criminal trial is not jeopardized," Biehler said.
Han and Kennedy say in a written response that while the city has a right not to settle civil rights cases, "its citizens have the right to proceed to trial in these cases in an expeditious manner."
"Cynthia Seeley has waited long enough. Whether the criminal case needs to be delayed for whatever reason, she's entitled to her day in court," Han said Wednesday.
In their written response, they note Chase, rather than asking for a delay at the outset, has "extracted every possible advantage via discovery and motions." They contend he has vigorously pursued information from Seeley while declining to provide any himself.
And they say their client has a significant personal interest in avoiding further psychological harm by bringing closure to the ordeal.
According to court records, Seeley alleges Chase responded to a domestic violence call, diverted Seeley as she left the home to "cool off," forced her into the back of his patrol car, drove to an alley behind a Northeast Heights hotel and raped her.
Plaintiffs in the new lawsuits make similar allegations.
Veronica Edwell claims that in January 2003, Chase took her into custody in his police car, handcuffed her, threatened her with sexual assault and fondled her.
It was because of Edwell that Chase's alleged misconduct came to light, the suit says. Weeks later she was stopped for a traffic violation by a different APD officer and would not roll down her car window more than two inches because of fear from the encounter with Chase, the suit says.
Kelly M. Ham alleges in a complaint that she was stopped on Jan. 17, 2003, while she was a passenger in a car being driven by a male friend.
Although no traffic violation occurred, Chase stopped the car near La Cueva High School and ordered two female occupants into the police car for a search, the lawsuit claims.
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