from the Albuquerque Journal
By Jeff Buckels, New Mexico Public Defender Department
Journal readers can't have missed Saturday's front-page story about how DNA evidence cleared my client Robert Gonzales of murder after two and a half years in jail. And you can't have missed that Robert confessed to the murder at the time.
It was a false confession, and it's not that rare. Nearly a fourth of 218 DNA exonerations documented by the national Innocence Project have involved false confessions.
Police use sophisticated techniques to get confessions. They start by putting the suspect off-guard with friendly chitchat, visiting about the suspect's school, family, favorite TV shows.
Having established that they are the suspect's pal, interrogators put the confession machinery in gear. They accuse the suspect of the crime and refuse to credit his denials. To make resistance seem pointless, they exaggerate or simply lie about the evidence they already have (“You were seen with the victim!”). In virtually every case of false confession involving compliant suspects, the interrogators minimize the suspect's blameworthiness (“I'd have done the same thing!”) and offer face-saving excuses which seem to promise leniency (“We know you were provoked!”). If the suspect still resists, they tell him that confessing is the only way to make the interrogation ordeal come to an end (“You've got to help us if you want to get this over with!”). If he still resists, the interrogators say he's wrong, and insist again and again that the only way to make the ordeal end is to get it right.
These techniques and others are mixed and repeated over and over, for hours if necessary. Every one was used on Robert Gonzales, who stopped resisting and confessed to a murder he didn't commit.
I expect this reaction from many readers: “If I were accused of a crime I didn't commit, nothing, except maybe torture, would make me confess.” I don't doubt it. But while you are enjoying your morning coffee and newspaper, consider whether you are not different from Robert Gonzales in at least two important ways.
First, you are not unusually vulnerable to manipulation and suggestion. Even persons of normal and high intelligence have succumbed to the interrogator's bag of tricks. Retarded and youthful suspects are like putty in a trained interrogator's hands.
Second, you have not been arrested, shackled and stuffed in the back seat of a police car. You are not surrounded by armed police in an interrogation room. Your mug shot will not be on the six o'clock news. You are not scared out of your wits. You are not easy pickings.
Robert Gonzales was. And it took a double-whammy of DNA evidence to stop what interrogation procedure and a false confession started.
More than two years ago, the police learned that scores of scientific tests — DNA evidence, fingerprints, hair samples, fiber evidence — had failed to place Robert at the scene of the crime or connect him to the victim in any way. The DNA pointed consistently to a single unknown person — not Robert. But in the teeth of the scientific evidence, the prosecution pushed on, relying on Robert's “confession” alone.
Two weeks ago, the other shoe fell. The DNA taken from the victim matched a prisoner at the federal lockdown outside Estancia. Then and only then did the prosecution throw in the towel.
I am not writing to vent or to celebrate (“All's well that ends well!”). I am writing to call attention to police policy and training — or rather the lack of it.
The two senior APD officers who interrogated Robert Gonzales knew they were dealing with a suspect who was young and probably retarded in some degree. He told them he was in special education classes in school. Yet they admitted in pretrial interviews and under oath at a hearing that they didn't even consider handling Robert's interrogation differently than any other. The fact is, APD had provided them with no training in interrogating developmentally disabled suspects.
Such training and policies exist and are in effect in other police departments. This specialized training helps officers recognize suspects who are retarded and requires them to make sure the suspects really do understand Miranda warnings. They are to curtail the usual tricks to elicit confessions, treat confessions skeptically, and do double duty corroborating such confessions before committing to prosecution.
Maybe if procedures like this had been in place at APD when Robert Gonzales was arrested, Robert wouldn't have given a false confession or maybe the police wouldn't have believed it. Failing that, maybe they would have gotten the message when the DNA evidence came in over two years ago and pointed to somebody else. This would have saved the prosecuting authorities, the court system and the taxpayers a lot of time, trouble and money.
And it would have saved a vulnerable young man from serving thirty-two months in jail for a horrific crime he did not commit.
Jeff Buckels is the supervising attorney of the Capital Crimes Unit of the Public Defender Department.
Showing posts with label Lawsuit. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lawsuit. Show all posts
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
A deeply damaged life collides into greater tragedy
By Joline Gutierrez Krueger, Albuquerque Tribune
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Cynthia Seeley told people she wanted to die.
In her short, painful 40 years of life, she had buried a son and been raped by a relative and, later, by an Albuquerque police officer.
She had fallen into booze and crack cocaine to escape the anguish of many failed relationships, male and female. She was a convicted felon, a drug trafficker, a forger and a woman on the edge.
She had also been a near-millionaire after receiving $943,380 in a federal lawsuit against Christopher Chase, the police officer she accused of rape.
In the courtroom that day in February 2005, she had smiled. And cried.
Two years later, money had apparently not bought her happiness.
In the morning of June 16, she tried to kill herself, according to a criminal complaint.
She downed a pint of vodka and a handful of alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication. She got behind the wheel of a Chevy Avalanche and hurtled on Georgia Street Northeast through a residential neighborhood north of Expo New Mexico.
No one knows why she was there.
She ran a stop sign at Mountain Road and slammed into a silver Lexus driven by Tran Dung, 47, sending his car spinning and snapping his neck, the complaint says.
Doctors at University of New Mexico Hospital say Tran, a recent immigrant from Vietnam, is paralyzed and will likely die a "slow, painful death," the complaint says.
His condition had been so grave that Albuquerque police had initially charged Seeley with vehicular homicide.
For now, though, Tran will live. He is listed in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Seeley will live, too, whether she wants to or not. She is charged with great bodily harm by vehicle and remains in the Metropolitan Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 cash-only bail.
She had walked away from her SUV, crumpled into the front of a house. Police say they found her curled on a front lawn, rocking and muttering, "I didn't want to hurt anyone."
Less than a mile from where she sat was the place that on a cold February day in 2002 she had been hurt, too.
She had testified at her federal lawsuit trial that Chase, an Albuquerque police officer for four years, had parked his squad car behind a Bennigan's at Louisiana Boulevard and America's Parkway Northeast and raped her in the back seat.
When it was over, he threw her and her purse to the ground "like trash" and drove away, she testified.
Chase had been one of two officers called to her apartment to investigate a call of domestic violence with her girlfriend.
Chase had offered to drive her to a friend's house so that the two women could separate and cool off when he veered off to the Bennigan's instead.
Seeley's lawsuit was one of six against Chase. All told, the city has paid out nearly $3 million in those cases.
Chase is serving a 15-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to 10 criminal charges involving attacks on seven victims, including Seeley, between 2001 and 2003.
If she is convicted, Seeley could be serving prison time as well. Certainly then her mental state will be brought out again in court.
During Chase's trial two years ago, psychologist Elaine Levine testified that Seeley had diagnoses of long-term depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug dependence and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Seeley, Levine said, was born of a mother strung out on heroin and into a life where nothing and no one could be counted on. She was sexually molested by a grandfather, Levine said. She gave birth to her first child when she was a child herself; by age 18, she was a mother of two.
Seeley married the second child's father, who abandoned her with three children when she was 21, Levine said. She began using cocaine and crack cocaine, especially after the death of her youngest son, killed, ironically, in a car crash.
"She has really suffered her whole life," Levine said.
The psychologist had advised the court that Seeley would need intensive long-term psychotherapy to help her "peel back layer after layer of trauma."
Whether Seeley had engaged in such treatment is unknown. If she had, it apparently had not worked.
Now, the pain that has brought her to her knees has apparently brought pain and paralysis to Tran and his family. The legacy of her sorrow is passed on, ugly and cold and relentless.
Wednesday, June 20, 2007
Cynthia Seeley told people she wanted to die.
In her short, painful 40 years of life, she had buried a son and been raped by a relative and, later, by an Albuquerque police officer.
She had fallen into booze and crack cocaine to escape the anguish of many failed relationships, male and female. She was a convicted felon, a drug trafficker, a forger and a woman on the edge.
She had also been a near-millionaire after receiving $943,380 in a federal lawsuit against Christopher Chase, the police officer she accused of rape.
In the courtroom that day in February 2005, she had smiled. And cried.
Two years later, money had apparently not bought her happiness.
In the morning of June 16, she tried to kill herself, according to a criminal complaint.
She downed a pint of vodka and a handful of alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication. She got behind the wheel of a Chevy Avalanche and hurtled on Georgia Street Northeast through a residential neighborhood north of Expo New Mexico.
No one knows why she was there.
She ran a stop sign at Mountain Road and slammed into a silver Lexus driven by Tran Dung, 47, sending his car spinning and snapping his neck, the complaint says.
Doctors at University of New Mexico Hospital say Tran, a recent immigrant from Vietnam, is paralyzed and will likely die a "slow, painful death," the complaint says.
His condition had been so grave that Albuquerque police had initially charged Seeley with vehicular homicide.
For now, though, Tran will live. He is listed in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said.
Seeley will live, too, whether she wants to or not. She is charged with great bodily harm by vehicle and remains in the Metropolitan Detention Center in lieu of $100,000 cash-only bail.
She had walked away from her SUV, crumpled into the front of a house. Police say they found her curled on a front lawn, rocking and muttering, "I didn't want to hurt anyone."
Less than a mile from where she sat was the place that on a cold February day in 2002 she had been hurt, too.
She had testified at her federal lawsuit trial that Chase, an Albuquerque police officer for four years, had parked his squad car behind a Bennigan's at Louisiana Boulevard and America's Parkway Northeast and raped her in the back seat.
When it was over, he threw her and her purse to the ground "like trash" and drove away, she testified.
Chase had been one of two officers called to her apartment to investigate a call of domestic violence with her girlfriend.
Chase had offered to drive her to a friend's house so that the two women could separate and cool off when he veered off to the Bennigan's instead.
Seeley's lawsuit was one of six against Chase. All told, the city has paid out nearly $3 million in those cases.
Chase is serving a 15-year prison sentence after pleading no contest to 10 criminal charges involving attacks on seven victims, including Seeley, between 2001 and 2003.
If she is convicted, Seeley could be serving prison time as well. Certainly then her mental state will be brought out again in court.
During Chase's trial two years ago, psychologist Elaine Levine testified that Seeley had diagnoses of long-term depression, anxiety, alcohol and drug dependence and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Seeley, Levine said, was born of a mother strung out on heroin and into a life where nothing and no one could be counted on. She was sexually molested by a grandfather, Levine said. She gave birth to her first child when she was a child herself; by age 18, she was a mother of two.
Seeley married the second child's father, who abandoned her with three children when she was 21, Levine said. She began using cocaine and crack cocaine, especially after the death of her youngest son, killed, ironically, in a car crash.
"She has really suffered her whole life," Levine said.
The psychologist had advised the court that Seeley would need intensive long-term psychotherapy to help her "peel back layer after layer of trauma."
Whether Seeley had engaged in such treatment is unknown. If she had, it apparently had not worked.
Now, the pain that has brought her to her knees has apparently brought pain and paralysis to Tran and his family. The legacy of her sorrow is passed on, ugly and cold and relentless.
Tuesday, May 8, 2007
APD officer spied on couple's naked doings, entered home, then assaulted them, lawsuit says
By Maggie Shepard, Albuquerque Tribune
Naked dancing. A dead dog. A police officer with an eye for detail and a can of Mace.
It's not the beginning to a great country song. It's the story laid out in a civil lawsuit filed in state District Court on Wednesday by Gary and Penny Schinagel against the Albuquerque Police Department and the city.
On Sept. 6, 2005, the Northeast Heights couple, married for more than 20 years, decided a bit of romance was the best way to celebrate their youngest child's departure for college.
Clothes came off. Music came on.
And soon, Albuquerque Police Officer Russell Moore was at their window looking in, responding, police say, to a call from a neighbor about loud music.
According to the lawsuit, a tape recorder on Moore's belt that records his actions indicated he stayed at the window for six minutes before making his way into their home.
Alarmed, the couple rushed to find their clothes. Gary Schinagel ended up in his wife's robe, confronting the officer, who had entered the home without a warrant and made his way to the kitchen, the lawsuit says.
Here, accounts of the bizarre night differ. The Schinagels say the officer took their fear and shock as aggression and sprayed Mace at them and their dog. The dog later died from complications, the lawsuit says.
The couple said they were handcuffed, still partially dressed, while they bled from being hit with a flashlight and were prevented from relieving their burning eyes.
The officer, according to police reports, said the Schinagels were aggressive and assaulted him, hurting his jaw. They were arrested on charges of battery on a police officer, which were later dismissed, according to court documents.
The lawsuit says the police officers who arrived later failed to help the family dog and left the home unlocked.
An Albuquerque TV station on Sept. 7, 2005, broadcast a report showing the couple's home near Tramway and Menaul boulevards Northeast and noting that the Schinagels weren't available for comment because they were out of town.
The home was burglarized early the next morning, the lawsuit says.
"It's hard to believe," said Ken Wagner, the Schinagel's attorney. "We have a right to privacy in our homes, and there is a right way and wrong way to enter."
Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman was not immediately able to determine if Moore or other officers involved in the incident had been administratively sanctioned.
Naked dancing. A dead dog. A police officer with an eye for detail and a can of Mace.
It's not the beginning to a great country song. It's the story laid out in a civil lawsuit filed in state District Court on Wednesday by Gary and Penny Schinagel against the Albuquerque Police Department and the city.
On Sept. 6, 2005, the Northeast Heights couple, married for more than 20 years, decided a bit of romance was the best way to celebrate their youngest child's departure for college.
Clothes came off. Music came on.
And soon, Albuquerque Police Officer Russell Moore was at their window looking in, responding, police say, to a call from a neighbor about loud music.
According to the lawsuit, a tape recorder on Moore's belt that records his actions indicated he stayed at the window for six minutes before making his way into their home.
Alarmed, the couple rushed to find their clothes. Gary Schinagel ended up in his wife's robe, confronting the officer, who had entered the home without a warrant and made his way to the kitchen, the lawsuit says.
Here, accounts of the bizarre night differ. The Schinagels say the officer took their fear and shock as aggression and sprayed Mace at them and their dog. The dog later died from complications, the lawsuit says.
The couple said they were handcuffed, still partially dressed, while they bled from being hit with a flashlight and were prevented from relieving their burning eyes.
The officer, according to police reports, said the Schinagels were aggressive and assaulted him, hurting his jaw. They were arrested on charges of battery on a police officer, which were later dismissed, according to court documents.
The lawsuit says the police officers who arrived later failed to help the family dog and left the home unlocked.
An Albuquerque TV station on Sept. 7, 2005, broadcast a report showing the couple's home near Tramway and Menaul boulevards Northeast and noting that the Schinagels weren't available for comment because they were out of town.
The home was burglarized early the next morning, the lawsuit says.
"It's hard to believe," said Ken Wagner, the Schinagel's attorney. "We have a right to privacy in our homes, and there is a right way and wrong way to enter."
Albuquerque police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman was not immediately able to determine if Moore or other officers involved in the incident had been administratively sanctioned.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Eyewitness Testimony Conflicting
By Carolyn Carlson, Journal Staff Writer
Jurors heard conflicting testimony between eyewitnesses in a civil wrongful death trial against two Albuquerque Police Department officers in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.
On Nov. 29, 2003, Eric Harrison was shot in the back by officer Matthew Thompson outside the police training academy near Montaño and Second NW during an incident between Harrison and then-54-year-old Cipriano Salazar, according to police reports.
The lawsuit contends the officers used excessive force and were negligent and reckless.
Officer Brad Ahrensfield was named in the lawsuit along with the city and Thompson. But after the plaintiffs rested their case Tuesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge James Parker dismissed Ahrensfield from the lawsuit saying there had not been any evidence to show Ahrensfield breached his duty as an officer.
Plaintiffs attorneys Miguel Campos and Phillip A. Martinez claimed that while Ahrensfield did not fire his weapon, he did not take any action, verbal or physical, to dissuade Thompson from firing the fatal shots. Nor did Ahrensfield warn Harrison that shots were going to be fired.
Parker also dismissed the city from the claim saying the plaintiffs did not present any evidence the officers were not properly trained. Parker also dismissed punitive damages from the claim saying there had not been any evidence presented showing the officers were reckless or negligent.
Honor roll
Martinez and Campos put Harrison's mother, Maria E. Chavez, on the stand. Chavez testified she was in prison at the time of her son's death. She said her son was on the honor roll in middle school and was chosen to go to Washington, D.C., because he was on the honor roll and because he was a good student.
"When Mr. Thompson took my son he took a part of my heart," Chavez said through tears.
During cross examination, Levy brought out that Harrison actually spent little time being raised by Chavez. Instead, Harrison lived with Chavez's mother, an aunt and her brother or sister. Chavez testified she was a crack addict and stole to support her habit before going to prison. Chavez was released from prison in January 2005.
"The most consistent role model mother was your mother, right?" Levy asked.
"Yes, I wanted him to be where he was well taken care of," Chavez said.
Chavez said Harrison would live with her on and off depending on how stable she was.
Along with Harrison, Chavez has three other sons younger than Harrison and from a different father.
Harrison's father spent 16 years in prison and did not have any contact with his son after he was released, Chavez said.
Chavez said Harrison dropped out of high school in the 10th grade when she moved to a different school district.
The eyewitness testimony was from two women who gave Harrison a ride so he could follow Salazar to get his bicycle back. The two eyewitnesses and Harrison followed Salazar to APD's Valley substation and training center parking lot, near the Montaño and Second Street intersection, where the shooting occurred.
Testimony from the first witness, Letisha Gonzales, was a reading of transcripts from her October 2006 deposition. Campos said they were unable to locate Gonzales for the trial.
The second eyewitness to testify was Janice Martinez Crawford. Crawford was sentenced to 18 years in prison last week in Bernalillo County District Court after being convicted of multiple counts of trafficking crack cocaine.
Gonzales testified she and Crawford went to the Walgreens at Fourth and Montaño on Nov. 29, 2003, to pick up some items for dinner. Gonzales said she saw Salazar hit Harrison in the face in the store's parking lot. She said she and Crawford gave Harrison a ride so he could follow Salazar. She said she believed Salazar had stolen Harrison's bike. She said they followed Salazar to the parking lot of APD's Valley substation and training academy. She said she never saw Harrison strike Salazar with the T-ball bat. She said Harrison did not even have the bat in his hand when he was shot. She also said that after she saw Harrison get shot she jumped out of Crawford's truck and ran towards the officer who shot Harrison. She said she was yelling "Why, why did you have to shoot him?" She said the officer then pointed a gun to her head and told her that for her "own good" she should not tell anyone anything about this incident.
Conflicting tales
Crawford's testimony differed. She testified that while waiting in the Walgreens parking lot she saw Salazar get on a bicycle and Harrison tell Salazar to give him back his bicycle.
"The older man pushed the child to the ground and the back tire ran over the child's ankle," Crawford said.
She said Harrison chased Salazar out of the parking lot on foot when she stopped her truck and asked Harrison if he needed help. She said Harrison jumped in the bed of the truck and they followed Salazar. They lost sight of him at one point but saw him again at the APD parking lot. She said she drove to the parking lot and Harrison jumped out of the truck with her son's T-ball bat that was in the bed. She said Harrison followed Salazar to the doors of the training center.
"Eric had hit him and was getting ready to hit him again when I heard shots being fired," Crawford said.
Crawford said to the best of her memory, Gonzales did not get out of the truck until officers told them to get on the ground. She did say officers had their guns drawn and pointed at them until she and Gonzales were handcuffed. She said they were unhandcuffed when officers took them, separately, into the Valley substation for questioning.
Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Levy while cross examining Crawford brought out that in a prior statement Crawford said Harrison was "raging mad" when he jumped out of her truck to go after Salazar with the T-ball bat.
She said she did not remember many of the details from that day because it was so long ago.
Levy reaffirmed through her cross examination that Crawford saw Harrison with the bat raised and ready to strike again when Thompson fired his gun.
After the shooting, Salazar was taken to a hospital and was released four days later.
The plaintiffs rested their case after Crawford's testimony.
Levy put Thompson on the stand as the defense's first witness.
Thompson said he confronted the situation on Nov. 29, 2003, when he was leaving APD's training center after SWAT training. At first when he saw an older man on a bicycle being followed by the truck with Harrison in the back he thought it was a police cadet training exercise.
When he realized it was not, he went over to where he saw Harrison hitting Salazar with the bat.
Thompson said he heard Harrison tell Salazar, "Do you think the cops will be able to help you?"
Thompson said he gave several clear commands to Harrison to stop what he was doing. He said he saw Harrison strike Salazar twice with the bat and raise it a third time when he fired two shots hitting Harrison.
"I believed the male with the bat was about to murder the victim on the ground," Thompson said. "I had no other choice."
He testified that police officers are trained to use deadly force if they feel their life or the life of another is being threatened.
The defense continues today, and the jury is expected to get the case by midafternoon.
Jurors heard conflicting testimony between eyewitnesses in a civil wrongful death trial against two Albuquerque Police Department officers in the fatal shooting of a 17-year-old.
On Nov. 29, 2003, Eric Harrison was shot in the back by officer Matthew Thompson outside the police training academy near Montaño and Second NW during an incident between Harrison and then-54-year-old Cipriano Salazar, according to police reports.
The lawsuit contends the officers used excessive force and were negligent and reckless.
Officer Brad Ahrensfield was named in the lawsuit along with the city and Thompson. But after the plaintiffs rested their case Tuesday afternoon, U.S. District Judge James Parker dismissed Ahrensfield from the lawsuit saying there had not been any evidence to show Ahrensfield breached his duty as an officer.
Plaintiffs attorneys Miguel Campos and Phillip A. Martinez claimed that while Ahrensfield did not fire his weapon, he did not take any action, verbal or physical, to dissuade Thompson from firing the fatal shots. Nor did Ahrensfield warn Harrison that shots were going to be fired.
Parker also dismissed the city from the claim saying the plaintiffs did not present any evidence the officers were not properly trained. Parker also dismissed punitive damages from the claim saying there had not been any evidence presented showing the officers were reckless or negligent.
Honor roll
Martinez and Campos put Harrison's mother, Maria E. Chavez, on the stand. Chavez testified she was in prison at the time of her son's death. She said her son was on the honor roll in middle school and was chosen to go to Washington, D.C., because he was on the honor roll and because he was a good student.
"When Mr. Thompson took my son he took a part of my heart," Chavez said through tears.
During cross examination, Levy brought out that Harrison actually spent little time being raised by Chavez. Instead, Harrison lived with Chavez's mother, an aunt and her brother or sister. Chavez testified she was a crack addict and stole to support her habit before going to prison. Chavez was released from prison in January 2005.
"The most consistent role model mother was your mother, right?" Levy asked.
"Yes, I wanted him to be where he was well taken care of," Chavez said.
Chavez said Harrison would live with her on and off depending on how stable she was.
Along with Harrison, Chavez has three other sons younger than Harrison and from a different father.
Harrison's father spent 16 years in prison and did not have any contact with his son after he was released, Chavez said.
Chavez said Harrison dropped out of high school in the 10th grade when she moved to a different school district.
The eyewitness testimony was from two women who gave Harrison a ride so he could follow Salazar to get his bicycle back. The two eyewitnesses and Harrison followed Salazar to APD's Valley substation and training center parking lot, near the Montaño and Second Street intersection, where the shooting occurred.
Testimony from the first witness, Letisha Gonzales, was a reading of transcripts from her October 2006 deposition. Campos said they were unable to locate Gonzales for the trial.
The second eyewitness to testify was Janice Martinez Crawford. Crawford was sentenced to 18 years in prison last week in Bernalillo County District Court after being convicted of multiple counts of trafficking crack cocaine.
Gonzales testified she and Crawford went to the Walgreens at Fourth and Montaño on Nov. 29, 2003, to pick up some items for dinner. Gonzales said she saw Salazar hit Harrison in the face in the store's parking lot. She said she and Crawford gave Harrison a ride so he could follow Salazar. She said she believed Salazar had stolen Harrison's bike. She said they followed Salazar to the parking lot of APD's Valley substation and training academy. She said she never saw Harrison strike Salazar with the T-ball bat. She said Harrison did not even have the bat in his hand when he was shot. She also said that after she saw Harrison get shot she jumped out of Crawford's truck and ran towards the officer who shot Harrison. She said she was yelling "Why, why did you have to shoot him?" She said the officer then pointed a gun to her head and told her that for her "own good" she should not tell anyone anything about this incident.
Conflicting tales
Crawford's testimony differed. She testified that while waiting in the Walgreens parking lot she saw Salazar get on a bicycle and Harrison tell Salazar to give him back his bicycle.
"The older man pushed the child to the ground and the back tire ran over the child's ankle," Crawford said.
She said Harrison chased Salazar out of the parking lot on foot when she stopped her truck and asked Harrison if he needed help. She said Harrison jumped in the bed of the truck and they followed Salazar. They lost sight of him at one point but saw him again at the APD parking lot. She said she drove to the parking lot and Harrison jumped out of the truck with her son's T-ball bat that was in the bed. She said Harrison followed Salazar to the doors of the training center.
"Eric had hit him and was getting ready to hit him again when I heard shots being fired," Crawford said.
Crawford said to the best of her memory, Gonzales did not get out of the truck until officers told them to get on the ground. She did say officers had their guns drawn and pointed at them until she and Gonzales were handcuffed. She said they were unhandcuffed when officers took them, separately, into the Valley substation for questioning.
Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Levy while cross examining Crawford brought out that in a prior statement Crawford said Harrison was "raging mad" when he jumped out of her truck to go after Salazar with the T-ball bat.
She said she did not remember many of the details from that day because it was so long ago.
Levy reaffirmed through her cross examination that Crawford saw Harrison with the bat raised and ready to strike again when Thompson fired his gun.
After the shooting, Salazar was taken to a hospital and was released four days later.
The plaintiffs rested their case after Crawford's testimony.
Levy put Thompson on the stand as the defense's first witness.
Thompson said he confronted the situation on Nov. 29, 2003, when he was leaving APD's training center after SWAT training. At first when he saw an older man on a bicycle being followed by the truck with Harrison in the back he thought it was a police cadet training exercise.
When he realized it was not, he went over to where he saw Harrison hitting Salazar with the bat.
Thompson said he heard Harrison tell Salazar, "Do you think the cops will be able to help you?"
Thompson said he gave several clear commands to Harrison to stop what he was doing. He said he saw Harrison strike Salazar twice with the bat and raise it a third time when he fired two shots hitting Harrison.
"I believed the male with the bat was about to murder the victim on the ground," Thompson said. "I had no other choice."
He testified that police officers are trained to use deadly force if they feel their life or the life of another is being threatened.
The defense continues today, and the jury is expected to get the case by midafternoon.
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
APD Suit Winner Killed a Week Later
Tuesday, November 28, 2006
FOR THE RECORD:This story has been corrected to reflect that Kathyrn Levy is an assistant city attorney.
By Carolyn Carlson
Journal Staff Writer
An Albuquerque man who last week was awarded more than $300,000 in damages in a civil lawsuit against city police has been identified as the man found shot on Fourth Street on Thanksgiving.
Jerome J. Hall, 42, died on the way to the University of New Mexico Hospital after he was found Thursday evening in the 6700 block of Fourth Street, near Osuna, suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Sgt. David Knowles, spokesman for the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.
Just six days earlier, a U.S. District Court jury awarded Hall $307,030 in damages in an excessive force case against three Albuquerque Police officers.
Hall received second- and third-degree burns when one of the officers used a Taser on him multiple times during his 2002 arrest. Hall lost part of his ear as a result of being burned.
The jury found that officers Tim Gonterman, Sean Higdon and David Hinson used "excessive force" when arresting Hall, according to court documents.
"This is really tragic," said attorney Robert Gorence, who represented Hall in the case. "Here we have someone who had put his life in order and finally had the means to do the things with his kids that he always wanted to do."
Hall did not live in the neighborhood where he was found shot, Gorence said Monday.
After last week's verdict, Hall said he had been addicted to drugs but had quit them and had gone through rehabilitation programs.
Hall said he was going to use the money from the verdict to help his four children and get his life back on track by going back to college in the fall.
Hall said he was a former medical technician and disabled Army veteran.
Gorence said he does not know if Hall had a will. He also said he did not know what city attorneys plan on doing in light of Hall's death.
"There are lots of things that need to be answered," Gorence said.
Assistant city attorney Kathryn Levy said her office is reviewing the case for post-trial motions.
"This is something we would normally do," Levy said.
She said she has never seen something like this before.
In the 2002 incident, Hall's attorneys claimed the officers had no lawful reason to arrest, assault or imprison Hall, saying he was just walking along Central in Nob Hill and complied with all of the officers' orders.
City attorneys claimed in court documents that the officers acted in good faith, using reasonable police procedures and tactics.
Court documents say Gonterman stopped Hall because police had received complaints of narcotic sales by people on foot in the area and that he had observed Hall acting suspiciously.
Knowles said detectives are investigating Hall's shooting as a homicide.
Anyone with any information on the case can remain anonymous and call Crime Stoppers at 843-STOP.
FOR THE RECORD:This story has been corrected to reflect that Kathyrn Levy is an assistant city attorney.
By Carolyn Carlson
Journal Staff Writer
An Albuquerque man who last week was awarded more than $300,000 in damages in a civil lawsuit against city police has been identified as the man found shot on Fourth Street on Thanksgiving.
Jerome J. Hall, 42, died on the way to the University of New Mexico Hospital after he was found Thursday evening in the 6700 block of Fourth Street, near Osuna, suffering from gunshot wounds, according to Sgt. David Knowles, spokesman for the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department.
Just six days earlier, a U.S. District Court jury awarded Hall $307,030 in damages in an excessive force case against three Albuquerque Police officers.
Hall received second- and third-degree burns when one of the officers used a Taser on him multiple times during his 2002 arrest. Hall lost part of his ear as a result of being burned.
The jury found that officers Tim Gonterman, Sean Higdon and David Hinson used "excessive force" when arresting Hall, according to court documents.
"This is really tragic," said attorney Robert Gorence, who represented Hall in the case. "Here we have someone who had put his life in order and finally had the means to do the things with his kids that he always wanted to do."
Hall did not live in the neighborhood where he was found shot, Gorence said Monday.
After last week's verdict, Hall said he had been addicted to drugs but had quit them and had gone through rehabilitation programs.
Hall said he was going to use the money from the verdict to help his four children and get his life back on track by going back to college in the fall.
Hall said he was a former medical technician and disabled Army veteran.
Gorence said he does not know if Hall had a will. He also said he did not know what city attorneys plan on doing in light of Hall's death.
"There are lots of things that need to be answered," Gorence said.
Assistant city attorney Kathryn Levy said her office is reviewing the case for post-trial motions.
"This is something we would normally do," Levy said.
She said she has never seen something like this before.
In the 2002 incident, Hall's attorneys claimed the officers had no lawful reason to arrest, assault or imprison Hall, saying he was just walking along Central in Nob Hill and complied with all of the officers' orders.
City attorneys claimed in court documents that the officers acted in good faith, using reasonable police procedures and tactics.
Court documents say Gonterman stopped Hall because police had received complaints of narcotic sales by people on foot in the area and that he had observed Hall acting suspiciously.
Knowles said detectives are investigating Hall's shooting as a homicide.
Anyone with any information on the case can remain anonymous and call Crime Stoppers at 843-STOP.
Saturday, November 18, 2006
APD Loses Brutality Case
Saturday, November 18, 2006
By Debra Dominguez-Lund
Copyright © 2006 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
A formerly homeless man who suffered severe burns and lost part of his ear when he was arrested by three Albuquerque police officers four years ago was awarded about $300,000 by a federal jury Friday.
Despite the verdict in U.S. District Court, Jerome Hall, who suffered permanent disfiguration from the September 2002 incident, said he'll never feel he's gotten complete justice.
"They took my dignity away from me in public," said Hall, who says police officers unlawfully arrested him, used Tasers on him and beat him excessively after he was warned not to walk along Central east of Nob Hill. "They treated me like an animal because I was black and homeless— like I was less than nothing. It was a public lynching in modern times."
The jury found that Albuquerque police officers Tim Gonterman, Sean Higdon and David Hinson used "excessive force" when they arrested Hall in September 2002, said Hall's attorney, Louren Oliveros.
Kathryn Levy, the city attorney representing the police officers, couldn't be reached for comment.
However, City Attorney Robert White said the city accepts the jury's decision.
"The jury entered its verdict, and we accept its decision with regard to the amount (awarded to Hall)," White said. "And since that particular incident, APD has reviewed and changed its Taser policy."
Hall's attorneys claimed the officers had no lawful reason to arrest, assault or falsely imprison Hall, saying he was just walking along Central and complied with all officers' orders. City attorneys claimed in court documents that the officers acted in good faith, using reasonable police procedures and tactics.
City attorneys also maintained, according to court documents, that the officers had probable cause to arrest Hall, 42, for various crimes, including public nuisance, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing.
Court documents say Gonterman stopped Hall because police had received complaints of narcotic sales by people on foot in the area, and that he observed Hall acting suspiciously.
Oliveros claimed in the suit that the three officers beat Hall, and that Gonterman applied his Taser "to Mr. Hall's body multiple times inflicting second and third-degree burns."
She said Hall lost part of his ear as a result of being burned.
Hall admits that he had been addicted to drugs but says he has since been through rehabilitation programs. He said he's going to use the money to help get his life back on track and help his four children.
"I want to re-establish my relationships with them and eventually go back to college in the fall," said Hall, a former medical technician and disabled U.S. Army veteran.
"I hope my story shows people redemption is possible for anyone," said Hall, who said his drug addiction led him to homelessness. "The beating made me feel like I was written off as a subhuman, like I had no rights, like I was less than an animal and worthless.
"But homeless or not, we have rights and a voice," Hall said. "And I feel those men should not be cops or even security guards because they pose a possible threat to anyone who's not like them."
APD spokesman John Walsh said that because the incident took place in 2002 under former APD Chief Gilbert Gallegos, he didn't know whether the officers ever faced any disciplinary action. All three still work for APD.
"I'd be more than happy to review it, though," Walsh said. "But as far as that chapter's concerned, it's closed now."
"The position of the city is that it felt strong that the actions of the police officers back then fell under the scoping guidelines of 2002 and the use-of-force model (for Tasers)," said Walsh, adding that the Police Department's policy regarding Tasers has since been made much more restrictive.
Oliveros, who represented Hall with her husband, Robert Gorence, applauded the jury's verdict.
"The defendants did their best to make Hall look as least human as possible," she said. "But the jury's verdict is a good sign society is starting to see through racial and class profiling, as well as the complete disregard these people are often treated with."
By Debra Dominguez-Lund
Copyright © 2006 Albuquerque Journal; Journal Staff Writer
A formerly homeless man who suffered severe burns and lost part of his ear when he was arrested by three Albuquerque police officers four years ago was awarded about $300,000 by a federal jury Friday.
Despite the verdict in U.S. District Court, Jerome Hall, who suffered permanent disfiguration from the September 2002 incident, said he'll never feel he's gotten complete justice.
"They took my dignity away from me in public," said Hall, who says police officers unlawfully arrested him, used Tasers on him and beat him excessively after he was warned not to walk along Central east of Nob Hill. "They treated me like an animal because I was black and homeless— like I was less than nothing. It was a public lynching in modern times."
The jury found that Albuquerque police officers Tim Gonterman, Sean Higdon and David Hinson used "excessive force" when they arrested Hall in September 2002, said Hall's attorney, Louren Oliveros.
Kathryn Levy, the city attorney representing the police officers, couldn't be reached for comment.
However, City Attorney Robert White said the city accepts the jury's decision.
"The jury entered its verdict, and we accept its decision with regard to the amount (awarded to Hall)," White said. "And since that particular incident, APD has reviewed and changed its Taser policy."
Hall's attorneys claimed the officers had no lawful reason to arrest, assault or falsely imprison Hall, saying he was just walking along Central and complied with all officers' orders. City attorneys claimed in court documents that the officers acted in good faith, using reasonable police procedures and tactics.
City attorneys also maintained, according to court documents, that the officers had probable cause to arrest Hall, 42, for various crimes, including public nuisance, disorderly conduct, resisting arrest and criminal trespassing.
Court documents say Gonterman stopped Hall because police had received complaints of narcotic sales by people on foot in the area, and that he observed Hall acting suspiciously.
Oliveros claimed in the suit that the three officers beat Hall, and that Gonterman applied his Taser "to Mr. Hall's body multiple times inflicting second and third-degree burns."
She said Hall lost part of his ear as a result of being burned.
Hall admits that he had been addicted to drugs but says he has since been through rehabilitation programs. He said he's going to use the money to help get his life back on track and help his four children.
"I want to re-establish my relationships with them and eventually go back to college in the fall," said Hall, a former medical technician and disabled U.S. Army veteran.
"I hope my story shows people redemption is possible for anyone," said Hall, who said his drug addiction led him to homelessness. "The beating made me feel like I was written off as a subhuman, like I had no rights, like I was less than an animal and worthless.
"But homeless or not, we have rights and a voice," Hall said. "And I feel those men should not be cops or even security guards because they pose a possible threat to anyone who's not like them."
APD spokesman John Walsh said that because the incident took place in 2002 under former APD Chief Gilbert Gallegos, he didn't know whether the officers ever faced any disciplinary action. All three still work for APD.
"I'd be more than happy to review it, though," Walsh said. "But as far as that chapter's concerned, it's closed now."
"The position of the city is that it felt strong that the actions of the police officers back then fell under the scoping guidelines of 2002 and the use-of-force model (for Tasers)," said Walsh, adding that the Police Department's policy regarding Tasers has since been made much more restrictive.
Oliveros, who represented Hall with her husband, Robert Gorence, applauded the jury's verdict.
"The defendants did their best to make Hall look as least human as possible," she said. "But the jury's verdict is a good sign society is starting to see through racial and class profiling, as well as the complete disregard these people are often treated with."
Friday, October 27, 2006
Lawsuit Claims APD Officers Assaulted Man
Friday, October 27, 2006
Associated Press
A federal lawsuit filed against three police officers alleges they sexually assaulted a man while serving a search warrant that involved a former tenant at the man's apartment.
The lawsuit, filed Monday on behalf of 36-year-old Leo Michael Baca, claims officers locked Baca in a bedroom in August 2005, sexually assaulted him and threatened to cut off his testicles if he refused to give information about a previous tenant of the apartment.
The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Albuquerque, Officer Lucas Townsend and two officers Baca said he couldn't identify.
Police spokesman John Walsh declined to comment on the lawsuit.
City Attorney Bob White said his office is reviewing the lawsuit. He had no further comment.
An internal investigation into Baca's allegations cleared the officers, according to a police report.
The investigation included interviews with 13 police officers and an acquaintance of Baca's who were present during the search. All said they did not witness an assault against Baca and said Baca was in the apartment's living room throughout the search.
Investigators were unable to obtain information from audio recorders worn by six officers involved during the search because all six had turned them off after entering the apartment, according to the report.
Police had obtained a warrant to search the apartment in connection with a drug trafficking investigation.
Associated Press
A federal lawsuit filed against three police officers alleges they sexually assaulted a man while serving a search warrant that involved a former tenant at the man's apartment.
The lawsuit, filed Monday on behalf of 36-year-old Leo Michael Baca, claims officers locked Baca in a bedroom in August 2005, sexually assaulted him and threatened to cut off his testicles if he refused to give information about a previous tenant of the apartment.
The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Albuquerque, Officer Lucas Townsend and two officers Baca said he couldn't identify.
Police spokesman John Walsh declined to comment on the lawsuit.
City Attorney Bob White said his office is reviewing the lawsuit. He had no further comment.
An internal investigation into Baca's allegations cleared the officers, according to a police report.
The investigation included interviews with 13 police officers and an acquaintance of Baca's who were present during the search. All said they did not witness an assault against Baca and said Baca was in the apartment's living room throughout the search.
Investigators were unable to obtain information from audio recorders worn by six officers involved during the search because all six had turned them off after entering the apartment, according to the report.
Police had obtained a warrant to search the apartment in connection with a drug trafficking investigation.
Friday, September 1, 2006
Family Seeks Money Damages From APD
By Carolyn Carlson, Journal Staff Writer
The family of a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by Albuquerque Police Department officers in 2003 is seeking monetary damages from the city and the officers.
On Nov. 29, 2003, Eric Harrison was shot in the back by Officer Matthew Thompson outside the police training academy near Montaño and Second Street during an altercation between Harrison and then-54-year-old Cipriano Salazar.
A police spokesman at the time said the officers were leaving a training session at the academy when they saw a beating in progress. They ordered Harrison to drop a baseball bat he was using to hit Salazar. Harrison refused and raised the bat to strike again, the spokesman said.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on Nov. 28, 2005, the day before the statute of limitations would have run out, according to attorney Miguel Campos.
Campos and attorney Phillip A. Martinez are representing Maria E. Chávez, who had raised Harrison since he was a toddler.
According to court documents, Campos and Martinez contend Thompson and Brad Ahrensfield confronted Harrison and Salazar, who were involved in the altercation over a T-ball bat.
"One of the officers without adequate warning opened fire upon (Harrison) shooting him twice in the back causing fatal injuries," the lawsuit says.
Campos and Martinez said officers used excessive force and were negligent and reckless.
"It is sad all the way around," Campos said Thursday. He declined to comment further.
Court documents say Ahrensfield did not fire his gun.
Campos and Martinez say in the lawsuit that even though he did not fire his gun, Ahrensfield did not take any action, verbal or physical, to dissuade Thompson from firing the fatal shots. Nor did Ahrensfield warn Harrison that shots were going to be fired.
City attorneys Robert M. White and Kathryn Levy said in court documents that Thompson saw Harrison beating Salazar in the head with a baseball bat. Thompson ordered Harrison to stop but Harrison struck Salazar a second time with the bat. Harrison was in a striking position when Thompson shot Harrison.
They say the actions taken by Thompson saved Salazar from further serious injury or even death and were in full compliance with standard and acceptable police procedures, the city's response to the lawsuit said.
Salazar was taken to an area hospital and was released four days later.
"The city will defend its actions in the lawsuit," White said Thursday.
At the time of the shooting, Harrison's family said the shooting was a tragedy beyond belief.
Frank Chávez, Harrison's uncle, has said his nephew was a good kid and had never been in trouble. Chávez has said he and his mother, Maria, raised Harrison since he was a toddler because both of his parents were in prison.
"This has devastated our family," Chávez said at the time. "The police could have handled this differently. He was just a little guy. Two big cops could have taken him down."
Chávez said his nephew was about 5-foot-5 and weighed only about 130 pounds.
The lawsuit asks for damages to be determined at trial. The case is currently set for a March 2007 trial date.
The family of a 17-year-old who was shot and killed by Albuquerque Police Department officers in 2003 is seeking monetary damages from the city and the officers.
On Nov. 29, 2003, Eric Harrison was shot in the back by Officer Matthew Thompson outside the police training academy near Montaño and Second Street during an altercation between Harrison and then-54-year-old Cipriano Salazar.
A police spokesman at the time said the officers were leaving a training session at the academy when they saw a beating in progress. They ordered Harrison to drop a baseball bat he was using to hit Salazar. Harrison refused and raised the bat to strike again, the spokesman said.
The wrongful death lawsuit was filed on Nov. 28, 2005, the day before the statute of limitations would have run out, according to attorney Miguel Campos.
Campos and attorney Phillip A. Martinez are representing Maria E. Chávez, who had raised Harrison since he was a toddler.
According to court documents, Campos and Martinez contend Thompson and Brad Ahrensfield confronted Harrison and Salazar, who were involved in the altercation over a T-ball bat.
"One of the officers without adequate warning opened fire upon (Harrison) shooting him twice in the back causing fatal injuries," the lawsuit says.
Campos and Martinez said officers used excessive force and were negligent and reckless.
"It is sad all the way around," Campos said Thursday. He declined to comment further.
Court documents say Ahrensfield did not fire his gun.
Campos and Martinez say in the lawsuit that even though he did not fire his gun, Ahrensfield did not take any action, verbal or physical, to dissuade Thompson from firing the fatal shots. Nor did Ahrensfield warn Harrison that shots were going to be fired.
City attorneys Robert M. White and Kathryn Levy said in court documents that Thompson saw Harrison beating Salazar in the head with a baseball bat. Thompson ordered Harrison to stop but Harrison struck Salazar a second time with the bat. Harrison was in a striking position when Thompson shot Harrison.
They say the actions taken by Thompson saved Salazar from further serious injury or even death and were in full compliance with standard and acceptable police procedures, the city's response to the lawsuit said.
Salazar was taken to an area hospital and was released four days later.
"The city will defend its actions in the lawsuit," White said Thursday.
At the time of the shooting, Harrison's family said the shooting was a tragedy beyond belief.
Frank Chávez, Harrison's uncle, has said his nephew was a good kid and had never been in trouble. Chávez has said he and his mother, Maria, raised Harrison since he was a toddler because both of his parents were in prison.
"This has devastated our family," Chávez said at the time. "The police could have handled this differently. He was just a little guy. Two big cops could have taken him down."
Chávez said his nephew was about 5-foot-5 and weighed only about 130 pounds.
The lawsuit asks for damages to be determined at trial. The case is currently set for a March 2007 trial date.
Friday, March 31, 2006
Ex-Cop Gets 15 Years in Assaults
By Scott Sandlin , Journal Staff Writer
Ex-cop Christopher Chase, a man who once put people in handcuffs, saw them slipped on his wrists by court officers Thursday after he was sentenced to the maximum possible penalty— 15 years behind bars.
Despite his attorney's request for voluntary surrender, Chase was taken into custody as soon as the sentencing hearing ended— to wails from his family.
Chase, 31, an Albuquerque Police Department officer fired after his indictment on multiple sexual assault and kidnapping charges in June 2003, entered a plea in February acknowledging he could be convicted if he went to trial. The so-called Alford plea was to 10 counts of criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and other crimes related to six victims.
District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd then found him guilty.
But Chase and family members speaking on his behalf continued to insist his innocence and said he took the plea only to provide some resolution for his young family. His daughters, ages 1 and 4, and his wife, Darla, appeared at the hearing as they have for virtually every court event in the longstanding case.
His wife, who said there were mistakes in the investigation, emotionally threw her arms around Chase before he was ordered to prison.
A succession of victims also offered emotional evocations of their experiences with Chase, whom they never knew before their official encounters with him. The women, some of whom were high school teens at the time the crimes were committed, spoke of the lasting effects of the assaults on them and their families.
Veronica Edwell, pulled over by Chase for an alleged traffic infraction and assaulted, and Marissa Senigo, who was 16 when she was pulled over by Chase in 2002, said they fear police when they see them.
Prosecutor Michael Fricke, urging the maximum penalty, said Chase had figuratively raped the city as well as the individual victims.
Detective Monte Curtis said that, until he investigated, he would never have believed a police officer capable of the assaults. Chase has eroded years of work building relations between police and the community, he said.
Defense attorney Jacquelyn Robins urged Shepherd to sentence Chase to five years in prison and 20 years probation. As an ex-cop, she said, her client will have to remain in protective custody— meaning 23 hours a day in his cell.
She said Chase took the plea despite his desire for a trial because, if he'd been convicted of even one set of incidents in the indictment, he could have faced an even longer sentence.
Ex-cop Christopher Chase, a man who once put people in handcuffs, saw them slipped on his wrists by court officers Thursday after he was sentenced to the maximum possible penalty— 15 years behind bars.
Despite his attorney's request for voluntary surrender, Chase was taken into custody as soon as the sentencing hearing ended— to wails from his family.
Chase, 31, an Albuquerque Police Department officer fired after his indictment on multiple sexual assault and kidnapping charges in June 2003, entered a plea in February acknowledging he could be convicted if he went to trial. The so-called Alford plea was to 10 counts of criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and other crimes related to six victims.
District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd then found him guilty.
But Chase and family members speaking on his behalf continued to insist his innocence and said he took the plea only to provide some resolution for his young family. His daughters, ages 1 and 4, and his wife, Darla, appeared at the hearing as they have for virtually every court event in the longstanding case.
His wife, who said there were mistakes in the investigation, emotionally threw her arms around Chase before he was ordered to prison.
A succession of victims also offered emotional evocations of their experiences with Chase, whom they never knew before their official encounters with him. The women, some of whom were high school teens at the time the crimes were committed, spoke of the lasting effects of the assaults on them and their families.
Veronica Edwell, pulled over by Chase for an alleged traffic infraction and assaulted, and Marissa Senigo, who was 16 when she was pulled over by Chase in 2002, said they fear police when they see them.
Prosecutor Michael Fricke, urging the maximum penalty, said Chase had figuratively raped the city as well as the individual victims.
Detective Monte Curtis said that, until he investigated, he would never have believed a police officer capable of the assaults. Chase has eroded years of work building relations between police and the community, he said.
Defense attorney Jacquelyn Robins urged Shepherd to sentence Chase to five years in prison and 20 years probation. As an ex-cop, she said, her client will have to remain in protective custody— meaning 23 hours a day in his cell.
She said Chase took the plea despite his desire for a trial because, if he'd been convicted of even one set of incidents in the indictment, he could have faced an even longer sentence.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Ex-Officer Guilty on 10 Counts
Saturday, January 28, 2006
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
Former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase faces up to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and other crimes.
Chase entered a plea Friday in which he acknowledged he likely would be convicted at trial. District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd then found him guilty of nine felony charges and one misdemeanor.
She scheduled sentencing for March 30.
The plea brings to a close a costly chapter for the city, which has been a defendant in lawsuits filed by the former officer's victims.
One case went to trial last February in federal court and resulted in a jury verdict of $943,380 plus $150,000 in legal fees. The city has appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Another case involving a former prostitute was settled for $300,000 in November, despite Mayor Martin Chávez's policy of not settling cases involving police officers.
Three remaining civil lawsuits in which women claimed they had been sexually assaulted by Chase were resolved by Thursday with a $600,000 settlement, their attorney said.
The legal cases against Chase stem from traffic stops that started in September 2001 where he sexually molested, beat or kidnapped at least 11 motorists.
A subdued Chase, 31, appeared before Shepherd and answered "Yes ma'am" and "No ma'am" to questions about the individual charges.
His wife, mother-in-law and two young daughters watched. So did family members of one victim, who wept as Chase entered the plea to counts involving the then-16-year-old girl stopped by Chase and fondled in 2003.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fricke said the plea was a good outcome for the victims, who won't have to testify, and for the public.
Defense attorney Jacquelyn Robins said her client faces less time than if he had gone to trial and been convicted.
There could have been at least three and possibly six trials.
Shepherd ordered a presentence report and said Chase would be remanded to the community confinement program pending sentencing.
That means he can continue working at the construction company where he supervises 30 employees, putting in some 70 hours a week, according to Robins. She said Chase wanted to keep working so he can provide for his family before he goes to prison.
The charges in the plea agreement include criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping, criminal sexual contact of a minor by a person in a position of authority and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Fricke said he will argue for the maximum sentence.
Robins said she will ask that he be sentenced to nine years, with as much probation as the statute will permit.
The plea agreement may have been encouraged by an FBI investigation that could have led to federal charges of civil rights violations.
The civil lawsuits began mounting soon after the criminal indictment was handed up in June 2003. Chase was fired by APD shortly thereafter.
Attorney Brad Hall said he settled cases filed on behalf of three women on Thursday for a total of $600,000.
"I think we could have done better at trial, but they wanted to get this behind them," Hall said.
He said he believes the city has paid nearly $800,000 in legal fees in the collective cases involving Chase.
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
Former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase faces up to 15 years in prison after being found guilty of criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and other crimes.
Chase entered a plea Friday in which he acknowledged he likely would be convicted at trial. District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd then found him guilty of nine felony charges and one misdemeanor.
She scheduled sentencing for March 30.
The plea brings to a close a costly chapter for the city, which has been a defendant in lawsuits filed by the former officer's victims.
One case went to trial last February in federal court and resulted in a jury verdict of $943,380 plus $150,000 in legal fees. The city has appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
Another case involving a former prostitute was settled for $300,000 in November, despite Mayor Martin Chávez's policy of not settling cases involving police officers.
Three remaining civil lawsuits in which women claimed they had been sexually assaulted by Chase were resolved by Thursday with a $600,000 settlement, their attorney said.
The legal cases against Chase stem from traffic stops that started in September 2001 where he sexually molested, beat or kidnapped at least 11 motorists.
A subdued Chase, 31, appeared before Shepherd and answered "Yes ma'am" and "No ma'am" to questions about the individual charges.
His wife, mother-in-law and two young daughters watched. So did family members of one victim, who wept as Chase entered the plea to counts involving the then-16-year-old girl stopped by Chase and fondled in 2003.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fricke said the plea was a good outcome for the victims, who won't have to testify, and for the public.
Defense attorney Jacquelyn Robins said her client faces less time than if he had gone to trial and been convicted.
There could have been at least three and possibly six trials.
Shepherd ordered a presentence report and said Chase would be remanded to the community confinement program pending sentencing.
That means he can continue working at the construction company where he supervises 30 employees, putting in some 70 hours a week, according to Robins. She said Chase wanted to keep working so he can provide for his family before he goes to prison.
The charges in the plea agreement include criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping, criminal sexual contact of a minor by a person in a position of authority and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon.
Fricke said he will argue for the maximum sentence.
Robins said she will ask that he be sentenced to nine years, with as much probation as the statute will permit.
The plea agreement may have been encouraged by an FBI investigation that could have led to federal charges of civil rights violations.
The civil lawsuits began mounting soon after the criminal indictment was handed up in June 2003. Chase was fired by APD shortly thereafter.
Attorney Brad Hall said he settled cases filed on behalf of three women on Thursday for a total of $600,000.
"I think we could have done better at trial, but they wanted to get this behind them," Hall said.
He said he believes the city has paid nearly $800,000 in legal fees in the collective cases involving Chase.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Ex-APD cop is to plead guilty today
By Joline Gutierrez Krueger, Albuquerque Tribune
Thursday, January 26, 2006
A former Albuquerque police officer was expected to plead guilty today to sexual assault charges involving women he encountered on bogus traffic stops.
Christopher Chase, who is also named in six lawsuits that have cost the city more than $1.4 million in claims, could face up to 15 years imprisonment under the plea agreement.
Had he been found guilty at trial, his sentence could have been more than 140 years.
Chase, 31, was a patrolman based in the Foothills area command but was fired after he was indicted June 2003 on 32 charges that included five counts of rape and two counts of criminal sexual contact.
THE LAWSUITS
Teenage boy (assault allegations): Federal jury awarded $17,000 in December 2004.
Woman, 34: Federal jury awarded $943,380 in February 2005 plus $150,000 in attorney fees in April 2005. Case is under appeal.
Woman, 18: Case settled in state District Court for $300,000 in November 2005.
Woman, 42: Pending in federal court.
Teenage girl No. 1: Pending in federal court.
Teenage girl No. 2: Pending in federal court.
Under the plea agreement, scheduled to be entered this morning before state District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd, Chase will plead guilty to four counts of rape, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of criminal sexual contact and one count of aggravated battery.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fricke said the plea agreement still includes every victim of a sexual assault. The charges also involve a teenage male relative of a high-ranking law enforcement official whom Chase is accused of beating with a flashlight and assaulting with a gun during a traffic stop in September 2002.
Prosecutors say Chase randomly selected vehicles to pull over, then forced himself on the motorist, most of whom had not committed any traffic offense. The incidents occurred while Chase was either on- or off-duty, and while he was using his marked police car.
One female victim was stopped twice - in September 2001 and again in February 2002 - and raped both times. Afterward, the woman said Chase washed her hands with a sanitizer to hide any traces of his assault, a criminal complaint states.
Two of the victims were high school girls who were driving with several male companions in January 2003 when Chase stopped their car and took the girls one by one to his squad car to fondle, the complaint states.
Fricke said he did not know why Chase decided to accept the plea deal now.
"Negotiations have a will of their own," he said.
Chase's attorney, Jacquelyn Robins, did not return a call to her office.
Chase was a 1999 graduate of the 80th Cadet Class of the Albuquerque Police Academy. His wife, Darla, has remained by his side at nearly every court appearance during the past two years. They have two children.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
A former Albuquerque police officer was expected to plead guilty today to sexual assault charges involving women he encountered on bogus traffic stops.
Christopher Chase, who is also named in six lawsuits that have cost the city more than $1.4 million in claims, could face up to 15 years imprisonment under the plea agreement.
Had he been found guilty at trial, his sentence could have been more than 140 years.
Chase, 31, was a patrolman based in the Foothills area command but was fired after he was indicted June 2003 on 32 charges that included five counts of rape and two counts of criminal sexual contact.
THE LAWSUITS
Teenage boy (assault allegations): Federal jury awarded $17,000 in December 2004.
Woman, 34: Federal jury awarded $943,380 in February 2005 plus $150,000 in attorney fees in April 2005. Case is under appeal.
Woman, 18: Case settled in state District Court for $300,000 in November 2005.
Woman, 42: Pending in federal court.
Teenage girl No. 1: Pending in federal court.
Teenage girl No. 2: Pending in federal court.
Under the plea agreement, scheduled to be entered this morning before state District Judge Denise Barela Shepherd, Chase will plead guilty to four counts of rape, three counts of kidnapping, two counts of criminal sexual contact and one count of aggravated battery.
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fricke said the plea agreement still includes every victim of a sexual assault. The charges also involve a teenage male relative of a high-ranking law enforcement official whom Chase is accused of beating with a flashlight and assaulting with a gun during a traffic stop in September 2002.
Prosecutors say Chase randomly selected vehicles to pull over, then forced himself on the motorist, most of whom had not committed any traffic offense. The incidents occurred while Chase was either on- or off-duty, and while he was using his marked police car.
One female victim was stopped twice - in September 2001 and again in February 2002 - and raped both times. Afterward, the woman said Chase washed her hands with a sanitizer to hide any traces of his assault, a criminal complaint states.
Two of the victims were high school girls who were driving with several male companions in January 2003 when Chase stopped their car and took the girls one by one to his squad car to fondle, the complaint states.
Fricke said he did not know why Chase decided to accept the plea deal now.
"Negotiations have a will of their own," he said.
Chase's attorney, Jacquelyn Robins, did not return a call to her office.
Chase was a 1999 graduate of the 80th Cadet Class of the Albuquerque Police Academy. His wife, Darla, has remained by his side at nearly every court appearance during the past two years. They have two children.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
City Pays $300,000 In Civil Lawsuit
By Scott Sandlin, Albuquerque Journal
The city has settled a civil lawsuit for $300,000 against former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase in an alleged rape— despite the mayor's policy against settling police cases.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of sometime prostitute Mitsey Ramone, who alleged she was raped twice by Chase, had been scheduled to begin trial Monday before William F. Lang, chief judge of the 2nd Judicial District Court.
Instead, the City Attorney's Office last week reached a settlement with Ramone's attorneys, Paul Kennedy and Mary Han.
Mayor Martin Chávez on Monday defended the no-settlement policy but said it was being fine-tuned to reflect situations where the city's liability is clear.
"We already know (the policy) has been incredibly successful financially for us. Instead of paying out on every case, we're prevailing in almost every case," he said. "That still brings to the fore the question of what happens when there's clear liability. I have no interest when you get a creep like Chase, making a victim go through the rigors of proving liability."
Chase faces criminal charges but hasn't yet been tried.
A grand jury indicted Chase in June 2003 on sexual assault charges against Ramone and other women and in alleged beatings of others. But pretrial motions caused delays, and it is now set for Dec. 12 before Judge Denise Barela Shepherd.
Chase was fired after he was named in the 32-count criminal indictment.
Ramone has testified about her experience in a civil lawsuit by another alleged Chase victim in federal court, Cynthia Seeley, as well as in a criminal hearing before Shepherd in October.
In the summer of 2002, Ramone said, she was prostituting herself to pay for her motel room, food and necessities, and occasionally for crack cocaine. She said a police officer stopped the truck in which she was a passenger near Central and Washington, conducted a pat-down search after she exited and took her to a park near Gibson where he forced her to have sex. Several months later, the same thing happened.
Seeley, who also described being sexually assaulted by Chase, won a verdict of $943,380 at trial in a federal civil rights suit against the former officer, including more than $800,000 in punitive damages. The court later awarded the attorneys $150,000 in legal fees. The city has appealed the judgment to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Kennedy said the structure of Ramone's settlement will give her a modest monthly income. He said she is no longer working as a prostitute.
"She's grateful this ordeal is over in terms of the civil case and still looks for justice from the criminal justice system," he said.
City Attorney Bob White said the case was settled because the facts were "virtually identical to the case that was tried. ... The mayor, I think, understood that the jury had spoken."
Another civil lawsuit filed on behalf of a high school student who said he'd been hit in the forehead with a flashlight by Chase also was tried before a federal jury and resulted in a $10,000 judgment against the former officer.
At least two more suits are pending in state and federal courts.
White and Chávez said those will be evaluated to determine whether they should be settled as well.
Chávez said in civil lawsuits against defendants like Chase, who are covered by a contract, the city lacks legal discretion to confess liability without the employee's permission.
"That's had us scratching our heads," Chávez said. Since a jury had found liability in the earlier case, he said he felt free to authorize settlement in Ramone's lawsuit.
"What we're trying to figure out is where we agree it's a bad apple ... how we can confess liability and leave to the jury the amount of damages."
Even conceding damages, a capable plaintiff's lawyer will want the jury to hear about some of the wrongdoing to have context for the damages. And that, says Chávez, can be a slippery slope.
Still, he said, some tweaking is in order.
"We've brought the pendulum back," he said. "Now we want to find a solution where there is liability."
Kennedy, for his part, says he doesn't really care if the city won't settle police cases.
"It's to the trial lawyers' advantage," said Kennedy, a former state Supreme Court justice. "We make lots of money from the no-settlement policy. If the mayor wants to spend taxpayers' dollars that way, it's fine with me."
The city has settled a civil lawsuit for $300,000 against former Albuquerque police officer Christopher Chase in an alleged rape— despite the mayor's policy against settling police cases.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of sometime prostitute Mitsey Ramone, who alleged she was raped twice by Chase, had been scheduled to begin trial Monday before William F. Lang, chief judge of the 2nd Judicial District Court.
Instead, the City Attorney's Office last week reached a settlement with Ramone's attorneys, Paul Kennedy and Mary Han.
Mayor Martin Chávez on Monday defended the no-settlement policy but said it was being fine-tuned to reflect situations where the city's liability is clear.
"We already know (the policy) has been incredibly successful financially for us. Instead of paying out on every case, we're prevailing in almost every case," he said. "That still brings to the fore the question of what happens when there's clear liability. I have no interest when you get a creep like Chase, making a victim go through the rigors of proving liability."
Chase faces criminal charges but hasn't yet been tried.
A grand jury indicted Chase in June 2003 on sexual assault charges against Ramone and other women and in alleged beatings of others. But pretrial motions caused delays, and it is now set for Dec. 12 before Judge Denise Barela Shepherd.
Chase was fired after he was named in the 32-count criminal indictment.
Ramone has testified about her experience in a civil lawsuit by another alleged Chase victim in federal court, Cynthia Seeley, as well as in a criminal hearing before Shepherd in October.
In the summer of 2002, Ramone said, she was prostituting herself to pay for her motel room, food and necessities, and occasionally for crack cocaine. She said a police officer stopped the truck in which she was a passenger near Central and Washington, conducted a pat-down search after she exited and took her to a park near Gibson where he forced her to have sex. Several months later, the same thing happened.
Seeley, who also described being sexually assaulted by Chase, won a verdict of $943,380 at trial in a federal civil rights suit against the former officer, including more than $800,000 in punitive damages. The court later awarded the attorneys $150,000 in legal fees. The city has appealed the judgment to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.
Kennedy said the structure of Ramone's settlement will give her a modest monthly income. He said she is no longer working as a prostitute.
"She's grateful this ordeal is over in terms of the civil case and still looks for justice from the criminal justice system," he said.
City Attorney Bob White said the case was settled because the facts were "virtually identical to the case that was tried. ... The mayor, I think, understood that the jury had spoken."
Another civil lawsuit filed on behalf of a high school student who said he'd been hit in the forehead with a flashlight by Chase also was tried before a federal jury and resulted in a $10,000 judgment against the former officer.
At least two more suits are pending in state and federal courts.
White and Chávez said those will be evaluated to determine whether they should be settled as well.
Chávez said in civil lawsuits against defendants like Chase, who are covered by a contract, the city lacks legal discretion to confess liability without the employee's permission.
"That's had us scratching our heads," Chávez said. Since a jury had found liability in the earlier case, he said he felt free to authorize settlement in Ramone's lawsuit.
"What we're trying to figure out is where we agree it's a bad apple ... how we can confess liability and leave to the jury the amount of damages."
Even conceding damages, a capable plaintiff's lawyer will want the jury to hear about some of the wrongdoing to have context for the damages. And that, says Chávez, can be a slippery slope.
Still, he said, some tweaking is in order.
"We've brought the pendulum back," he said. "Now we want to find a solution where there is liability."
Kennedy, for his part, says he doesn't really care if the city won't settle police cases.
"It's to the trial lawyers' advantage," said Kennedy, a former state Supreme Court justice. "We make lots of money from the no-settlement policy. If the mayor wants to spend taxpayers' dollars that way, it's fine with me."
Wednesday, October 19, 2005
Teen Shocked By Taser to Sue Cops
By Jeremy Pawloski, Journal Staff Writer
The family of a 16-year-old boy who is accused of battering a police officer during a Frito pie food fight at Capital High School Oct. 5 will sue the Santa Fe Police Department for repeatedly shocking the teen with a Taser gun during the incident.
Sheri Raphaelson, 16-year-old Nick Mendoza's civil attorney, also said that at least one of the police officers who shocked Mendoza with a Taser during the incident called Mendoza a "mojado," or wetback.
Raphaelson said that Mendoza was shocked five times, and at least two of the Taser shocks came after Mendoza had already been handcuffed.
"There is no legal or ethical justification for Tasing this child after he was handcuffed and completely under the officers' control," Raphaelson said. "Tasing the child at that point could only have been for the amusement of the police officers."
City, state and county officers were called to Capital High Oct. 5 after students started throwing Frito pie at one another, leading to a disturbance that police said involved as many as 200 students. A security guard was treated for a mild concussion after he was hit in the head with a large object, possibly a bottle or rock.
Mendoza is charged in Santa Fe Children's Court with battery against a police officer and resisting arrest.
Prosecutor Heidi Zoyhofski said one police detective has already told a judge that when police responded at Capital High School, Mendoza was "trying to grab an officer around the waist, trying to body slam him to the ground."
Zoyhofski also noted that Mendoza has seven referrals to juvenile court for various juvenile offenses, and four of them are "for battery-type offenses."
Raphaelson said it is unfortunate that Mendoza is the only one who was charged in the aftermath of the Frito pie food fight, particularly in light of the fact that Mendoza was not even involved.
"He wasn't even in the cafeteria at the time of the food fight," Raphaelson said.
Santa Fe City Attorney Bruce Thompson said Tuesday he was not aware of the potential for litigation against the police department for shocking Mendoza, and so he did not have an immediate comment.
Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson has said police who responded to the food fight "acted within our policy and procedure."
Mark Dickson, Mendoza's Children's Court attorney, said Tuesday, "It's unfortunate that Nick was Tased."
Dickson was present during a Tuesday hearing to decide whether Mendoza would be released from a juvenile detention facility pending the outcome of his charges.
Dickson added that Mendoza "is not a large adolescent by any means."
Zoyhofski said during Tuesday's hearing that Mendoza is a documented gang member, but Dickson denied that Mendoza is a member of any gang.
Raphaelson said the reason police paid any attention to Mendoza at all is because he had responded to other students who were yelling "mojado" at him.
Santa Fe District Judge Michael Vigil ruled that Mendoza must remain in custody until a juvenile hearing to be held Monday morning before Santa Fe Children's Court Judge Barbara Vigil.
During Monday's hearing, school officials will have already met to decide what Mendoza's school status will be, and that is an outcome that Judge Michael Vigil said he wants Judge Barbara Vigil to have at her disposal before she makes a ruling on whether he should remain in custody.
Raphaelson said that because Mendoza is a special education student, it is unlikely that he will be suspended from Capital High. If a school district suspends a special education student, that school district must pay to educate the student at home, under an individualized education plan.
The family of a 16-year-old boy who is accused of battering a police officer during a Frito pie food fight at Capital High School Oct. 5 will sue the Santa Fe Police Department for repeatedly shocking the teen with a Taser gun during the incident.
Sheri Raphaelson, 16-year-old Nick Mendoza's civil attorney, also said that at least one of the police officers who shocked Mendoza with a Taser during the incident called Mendoza a "mojado," or wetback.
Raphaelson said that Mendoza was shocked five times, and at least two of the Taser shocks came after Mendoza had already been handcuffed.
"There is no legal or ethical justification for Tasing this child after he was handcuffed and completely under the officers' control," Raphaelson said. "Tasing the child at that point could only have been for the amusement of the police officers."
City, state and county officers were called to Capital High Oct. 5 after students started throwing Frito pie at one another, leading to a disturbance that police said involved as many as 200 students. A security guard was treated for a mild concussion after he was hit in the head with a large object, possibly a bottle or rock.
Mendoza is charged in Santa Fe Children's Court with battery against a police officer and resisting arrest.
Prosecutor Heidi Zoyhofski said one police detective has already told a judge that when police responded at Capital High School, Mendoza was "trying to grab an officer around the waist, trying to body slam him to the ground."
Zoyhofski also noted that Mendoza has seven referrals to juvenile court for various juvenile offenses, and four of them are "for battery-type offenses."
Raphaelson said it is unfortunate that Mendoza is the only one who was charged in the aftermath of the Frito pie food fight, particularly in light of the fact that Mendoza was not even involved.
"He wasn't even in the cafeteria at the time of the food fight," Raphaelson said.
Santa Fe City Attorney Bruce Thompson said Tuesday he was not aware of the potential for litigation against the police department for shocking Mendoza, and so he did not have an immediate comment.
Santa Fe Deputy Police Chief Eric Johnson has said police who responded to the food fight "acted within our policy and procedure."
Mark Dickson, Mendoza's Children's Court attorney, said Tuesday, "It's unfortunate that Nick was Tased."
Dickson was present during a Tuesday hearing to decide whether Mendoza would be released from a juvenile detention facility pending the outcome of his charges.
Dickson added that Mendoza "is not a large adolescent by any means."
Zoyhofski said during Tuesday's hearing that Mendoza is a documented gang member, but Dickson denied that Mendoza is a member of any gang.
Raphaelson said the reason police paid any attention to Mendoza at all is because he had responded to other students who were yelling "mojado" at him.
Santa Fe District Judge Michael Vigil ruled that Mendoza must remain in custody until a juvenile hearing to be held Monday morning before Santa Fe Children's Court Judge Barbara Vigil.
During Monday's hearing, school officials will have already met to decide what Mendoza's school status will be, and that is an outcome that Judge Michael Vigil said he wants Judge Barbara Vigil to have at her disposal before she makes a ruling on whether he should remain in custody.
Raphaelson said that because Mendoza is a special education student, it is unlikely that he will be suspended from Capital High. If a school district suspends a special education student, that school district must pay to educate the student at home, under an individualized education plan.
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
Ex-Cop Raises ID Issue In Case
Wednesday, October 12, 2005
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
An ex-cop accused of multiple assaults, sexual and otherwise, while on duty is raising questions about faulty police eyewitness identifications in the criminal case against him.
Christopher Chase contends bad eyewitness identifications resulting from poor techniques, including photo arrays, have been blamed for dozens of wrongful convictions nationwide.
Chase, 31, was charged in June 2003 by a Bernalillo County grand jury with 32 counts of criminal sexual penetration, battery, assault and kidnapping. The alleged incidents occurred while he was a uniformed officer in the Albuquerque Police Department.
But more than two years later, the criminal charges and four civil lawsuits remain up in the air. Chase, meanwhile, has been free on bond.
Chase is long gone from APD; he was fired in the wake of the investigation and resulting criminal case. But the city continues to pay his defense in the remaining civil lawsuits by the same alleged victims named in the criminal case.
Two civil suits have been resolved at trial in federal court. In one, the city paid $10,000 after a summary trial in favor of the plaintiff, who was a teenager at the time Chase allegedly hit him in the head with a flashlight.
In the other, a jury returned a $943,380 verdict against Chase to a woman who said she'd been raped by Chase. Chase repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify in that case. The verdict, along with $150,000 in attorney fees awarded by the court, has been appealed.
Chase's criminal trial is set for Dec. 12 before Judge Denise Barela Shepherd. Chase has spent the better part of the past two weeks in state district court on pretrial issues raised in that case— primarily defense attorney Jacquelyn Robins' contention that her client was wrongfully identified during the police investigation.
Robins, citing a growing body of research, is calling into question what she claims are flawed photo array techniques used in identifying suspects. Robins plans to call Roy Malpass of the University of Texas at El Paso, a criminal justice expert in the field, to testify. The prosecution has requested that his testimony be excluded as confusing and unnecessary.
Lawyers in the federal lawsuit brought by alleged victim Kelly Ham make a similar argument. They say Ham was unable to identify Chase as the person who assaulted her "even when presented with defendant Chase in the courtroom."
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fricke countered that Chase's alleged victims "had many minutes or more to observe (him)," including one woman allegedly assaulted twice, each incident separated by five months.
Despite minor differences in the eyewitness descriptions, each provided similar characteristics, Fricke argued, saying it was a question for a jury to decide.
But Robins also has asked Shepherd to carve up the case into discrete groupings according to the date of the alleged incidents, and Chase's three city-paid civil attorneys want the same on the civil side.
"Chase will demonstrate that he will be prejudiced by a joint trial of all 32 counts and that the court must order separate trials," Robins said in a pleading.
The civil attorneys say evidence of alleged assaults against people other than the plaintiff can't be admitted because it is tenuous, prejudicial and cumulative.
Brad Hall, who represents plaintiffs in three pending federal cases set for separate trials starting in March, calls that argument "non-sensical."
"Chase has been adequately identified ... Detective Monte Curtis investigated the claims and identified Chase as the perpetrator ... If he was not the perpetrator, why did he 'take the Fifth'?" Hall said in the Ham case.
By Scott Sandlin, Journal Staff Writer
An ex-cop accused of multiple assaults, sexual and otherwise, while on duty is raising questions about faulty police eyewitness identifications in the criminal case against him.
Christopher Chase contends bad eyewitness identifications resulting from poor techniques, including photo arrays, have been blamed for dozens of wrongful convictions nationwide.
Chase, 31, was charged in June 2003 by a Bernalillo County grand jury with 32 counts of criminal sexual penetration, battery, assault and kidnapping. The alleged incidents occurred while he was a uniformed officer in the Albuquerque Police Department.
But more than two years later, the criminal charges and four civil lawsuits remain up in the air. Chase, meanwhile, has been free on bond.
Chase is long gone from APD; he was fired in the wake of the investigation and resulting criminal case. But the city continues to pay his defense in the remaining civil lawsuits by the same alleged victims named in the criminal case.
Two civil suits have been resolved at trial in federal court. In one, the city paid $10,000 after a summary trial in favor of the plaintiff, who was a teenager at the time Chase allegedly hit him in the head with a flashlight.
In the other, a jury returned a $943,380 verdict against Chase to a woman who said she'd been raped by Chase. Chase repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify in that case. The verdict, along with $150,000 in attorney fees awarded by the court, has been appealed.
Chase's criminal trial is set for Dec. 12 before Judge Denise Barela Shepherd. Chase has spent the better part of the past two weeks in state district court on pretrial issues raised in that case— primarily defense attorney Jacquelyn Robins' contention that her client was wrongfully identified during the police investigation.
Robins, citing a growing body of research, is calling into question what she claims are flawed photo array techniques used in identifying suspects. Robins plans to call Roy Malpass of the University of Texas at El Paso, a criminal justice expert in the field, to testify. The prosecution has requested that his testimony be excluded as confusing and unnecessary.
Lawyers in the federal lawsuit brought by alleged victim Kelly Ham make a similar argument. They say Ham was unable to identify Chase as the person who assaulted her "even when presented with defendant Chase in the courtroom."
Assistant District Attorney Michael Fricke countered that Chase's alleged victims "had many minutes or more to observe (him)," including one woman allegedly assaulted twice, each incident separated by five months.
Despite minor differences in the eyewitness descriptions, each provided similar characteristics, Fricke argued, saying it was a question for a jury to decide.
But Robins also has asked Shepherd to carve up the case into discrete groupings according to the date of the alleged incidents, and Chase's three city-paid civil attorneys want the same on the civil side.
"Chase will demonstrate that he will be prejudiced by a joint trial of all 32 counts and that the court must order separate trials," Robins said in a pleading.
The civil attorneys say evidence of alleged assaults against people other than the plaintiff can't be admitted because it is tenuous, prejudicial and cumulative.
Brad Hall, who represents plaintiffs in three pending federal cases set for separate trials starting in March, calls that argument "non-sensical."
"Chase has been adequately identified ... Detective Monte Curtis investigated the claims and identified Chase as the perpetrator ... If he was not the perpetrator, why did he 'take the Fifth'?" Hall said in the Ham case.
Sunday, August 21, 2005
N.M. Officers Suing Taser Firm
The Associated Press
PHOENIX— Police officers in New Mexico and four other states have filed lawsuits against Arizona-based Taser International Inc., claiming they were seriously injured after being shocked with the electronic stun gun during training classes.
All of the lawsuits have been filed in the past two weeks, including four in Maricopa County Superior Court here on behalf of officers in Florida, Kansas, New Mexico and Ohio.
The officers allege they suffered "severe and permanent" injuries, including multiple spinal fractures, burns, a shoulder dislocation and soft-tissue injuries.
The lawsuits challenge Taser's principal safety claim and accuse the company of misleading law enforcement about the extent of potential injuries. They also accuse company officials of concealing reports of injuries to at least a dozen other law enforcement officers.
Taser, based in Scottsdale, has marketed the weapons to 7,000 law enforcement agencies and promoted the gun's safety.
The devices temporarily paralyze people with a 50,000-volt jolt delivered by two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing.
The American Civil Liberties Union reports more than 130 deaths in the United States related to Tasers, while Amnesty International reports more than 120 deaths in the U.S. and Canada— both figures since June 2001.
Taser International has consistently denied that its products are to blame in the deaths, arguing that none have been directly linked to Tasers.
The company also contends Tasers have saved thousands of lives— suspects who might otherwise have been fatally shot by police.
In a statement Friday, Taser vice president Steve Tuttle said the company planned to "aggressively fight" all of the lawsuits.
In their lawsuits, the officers allege they were injured in training classes between August 2003 and October 2004.
They say that Taser instructors did not reveal any medical information suggesting that the guns could cause injuries and they claim the company has ignored important research suggesting the guns could be extremely dangerous, if not fatal.
PHOENIX— Police officers in New Mexico and four other states have filed lawsuits against Arizona-based Taser International Inc., claiming they were seriously injured after being shocked with the electronic stun gun during training classes.
All of the lawsuits have been filed in the past two weeks, including four in Maricopa County Superior Court here on behalf of officers in Florida, Kansas, New Mexico and Ohio.
The officers allege they suffered "severe and permanent" injuries, including multiple spinal fractures, burns, a shoulder dislocation and soft-tissue injuries.
The lawsuits challenge Taser's principal safety claim and accuse the company of misleading law enforcement about the extent of potential injuries. They also accuse company officials of concealing reports of injuries to at least a dozen other law enforcement officers.
Taser, based in Scottsdale, has marketed the weapons to 7,000 law enforcement agencies and promoted the gun's safety.
The devices temporarily paralyze people with a 50,000-volt jolt delivered by two barbed darts that can penetrate clothing.
The American Civil Liberties Union reports more than 130 deaths in the United States related to Tasers, while Amnesty International reports more than 120 deaths in the U.S. and Canada— both figures since June 2001.
Taser International has consistently denied that its products are to blame in the deaths, arguing that none have been directly linked to Tasers.
The company also contends Tasers have saved thousands of lives— suspects who might otherwise have been fatally shot by police.
In a statement Friday, Taser vice president Steve Tuttle said the company planned to "aggressively fight" all of the lawsuits.
In their lawsuits, the officers allege they were injured in training classes between August 2003 and October 2004.
They say that Taser instructors did not reveal any medical information suggesting that the guns could cause injuries and they claim the company has ignored important research suggesting the guns could be extremely dangerous, if not fatal.
Thursday, July 7, 2005
Police Abuse? Visiting surgeon weighing options in wake of confrontation with Albuquerque cops
By Leslie Wood
Staff Writer, The Independent
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/july/072105pabuse.html
From the home in Gallup where he is staying, GIMC heart surgeon Vincent Moss talks on the phone Wednesday with attorneys about a potential lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department for excessive use of force. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]
GALLUP — A 34-year-old Gallup Indian Medical Center heart surgeon reclined on a plush cream sofa on Wednesday night as he juggled telephone calls from zealous attorneys hoping to represent him in a potential lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department.
To be exact, nine attorneys, from across the nation, have contacted Maryland native Vincent Moss since news broke about an incident where police allegedly beat him up outside an Albuquerque tavern.
However, the officers and bar owner assert appropriate force was used and Moss came toward them in a threatening manner.
Moss was visiting Albuquerque for the weekend after hearing of the city's reputation.
"I was just walking the beautiful streets of Albuquerque," he said. Moss said he approached Maloney's tavern manager Dave Buehring to question why he had not been served, after he had been ignored by the bar's wait staff for nearly 30 minutes.
Albuquerque police officers reportedly watched as Buehring and Moss discussed his treatment outside the downtown establishment and only took action once Moss followed Buehring back into the bar to settle a tab.
The incident escalated when officers grabbed Moss by the shirt and eventually pushed him onto the ground causing his shoulder to dislocate. Meanwhile, Moss said he was trying to introduce himself as a Gallup physician.
In addition to a dislocated shoulder, Moss sustained multiple bruises on his upper arm and left eye. He was subsequently booked into the Albuquerque detention center and made a $75 bond about 12 hours later.
Due to his injuries, Moss said he is unable to conduct surgery without an assistant. He plans to investigate the incident to determine whether a lawsuit is warranted.
"I want to gather all the facts to decide whether I should pursue legal matters," Moss said. "... but I do know excessive force was used."
He's not certain if his neglect as a customer was race-related because the tavern was filled with more than 100 customers at the time, he said. But he did call witness statements that he came toward the officers in an aggressive stance "a complete lie."
"It's unfortunate it happened to me," he said. "But what is fortunate is that I'll do something about it. I'll do whatever it takes."
Moss is temporarily working at GIMC as a heart surgeon until he is deployed to Iraq in September.
"He has been able to do things they usually can't accommodate," Louise Frechette, said of the surgeon who is temporarily staying at her and her husband's home.
When he arrived in Gallup in late June at about 2 a.m., Moss said he was followed to his Linda Street residence by at least three Gallup police officers who were patrolling the area.
He said a female officer pulled him over and asked if he was lost. The officers then followed Moss until he arrived at the location.
"It's so vague that it's not worth filing a complaint," Moss said. "I can't say it was race-related, but you can never rule it out."
He said incidents such as this are a more common of an occurrence since his arrival to the southwest. Gallup Police Chief Sylvester Stanley said it is not the department's policy to pull over a vehicle without probable cause.
"It's not our procedure to follow people regardless of their color," Stanley said.
However, he invited Moss to meet with him if he had a complaint.
Moss said he has already discussed the Albuquerque incident with the Mayor Martin Chavez, the police department and the governor's office.
Buehring could not be reached for comment, as of press time.
Staff Writer, The Independent
http://www.gallupindependent.com/2005/july/072105pabuse.html
From the home in Gallup where he is staying, GIMC heart surgeon Vincent Moss talks on the phone Wednesday with attorneys about a potential lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department for excessive use of force. [Photo by John A. Bowersmith/Independent]
GALLUP — A 34-year-old Gallup Indian Medical Center heart surgeon reclined on a plush cream sofa on Wednesday night as he juggled telephone calls from zealous attorneys hoping to represent him in a potential lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department.
To be exact, nine attorneys, from across the nation, have contacted Maryland native Vincent Moss since news broke about an incident where police allegedly beat him up outside an Albuquerque tavern.
However, the officers and bar owner assert appropriate force was used and Moss came toward them in a threatening manner.
Moss was visiting Albuquerque for the weekend after hearing of the city's reputation.
"I was just walking the beautiful streets of Albuquerque," he said. Moss said he approached Maloney's tavern manager Dave Buehring to question why he had not been served, after he had been ignored by the bar's wait staff for nearly 30 minutes.
Albuquerque police officers reportedly watched as Buehring and Moss discussed his treatment outside the downtown establishment and only took action once Moss followed Buehring back into the bar to settle a tab.
The incident escalated when officers grabbed Moss by the shirt and eventually pushed him onto the ground causing his shoulder to dislocate. Meanwhile, Moss said he was trying to introduce himself as a Gallup physician.
In addition to a dislocated shoulder, Moss sustained multiple bruises on his upper arm and left eye. He was subsequently booked into the Albuquerque detention center and made a $75 bond about 12 hours later.
Due to his injuries, Moss said he is unable to conduct surgery without an assistant. He plans to investigate the incident to determine whether a lawsuit is warranted.
"I want to gather all the facts to decide whether I should pursue legal matters," Moss said. "... but I do know excessive force was used."
He's not certain if his neglect as a customer was race-related because the tavern was filled with more than 100 customers at the time, he said. But he did call witness statements that he came toward the officers in an aggressive stance "a complete lie."
"It's unfortunate it happened to me," he said. "But what is fortunate is that I'll do something about it. I'll do whatever it takes."
Moss is temporarily working at GIMC as a heart surgeon until he is deployed to Iraq in September.
"He has been able to do things they usually can't accommodate," Louise Frechette, said of the surgeon who is temporarily staying at her and her husband's home.
When he arrived in Gallup in late June at about 2 a.m., Moss said he was followed to his Linda Street residence by at least three Gallup police officers who were patrolling the area.
He said a female officer pulled him over and asked if he was lost. The officers then followed Moss until he arrived at the location.
"It's so vague that it's not worth filing a complaint," Moss said. "I can't say it was race-related, but you can never rule it out."
He said incidents such as this are a more common of an occurrence since his arrival to the southwest. Gallup Police Chief Sylvester Stanley said it is not the department's policy to pull over a vehicle without probable cause.
"It's not our procedure to follow people regardless of their color," Stanley said.
However, he invited Moss to meet with him if he had a complaint.
Moss said he has already discussed the Albuquerque incident with the Mayor Martin Chavez, the police department and the governor's office.
Buehring could not be reached for comment, as of press time.
Thursday, June 30, 2005
Española: Suit Calls Chase Reckless
By Martin Salazar, Journal Staff Writer
Española police were reckless when they chased a Dixon man on a winding, two-lane highway— a chase that left the man, Tito Sanchez, in a coma for more than eight months, a federal lawsuit contends.
The chase ended when Sanchez crashed his pickup into a concrete barrier on N.M. 68. Sanchez sustained major head injuries, a brain injury and a fractured spine and neck, according to the lawsuit, which also states that his mental and physical injuries are likely permanent.
The chase stemmed from a confrontation at an Española Sonic Drive-In between Sanchez and his daughter over her excessive cell phone bill and a past-due insurance payment. Police have said that Sanchez slammed his daughter's arm in a car door and punched her on the left temple during the argument.
Apparently wanting to cool off before the altercation escalated further, Sanchez hopped into his Ford Ranger pickup and drove off— unaware that someone had called police. When he noticed police chasing him, he tried to elude them. According to the lawsuit, officers ran other uninvolved motorists off the road while trying to stop Sanchez.
The police "knew or should have known that the danger created by the pursuit outweighed any immediate danger to the public if Mr. Sanchez would have remained at large," the lawsuit states.
The suit accuses the Española Police Department of allowing officers to engage in high-speed pursuits even when they aren't warranted. It also alleges that Española police destroyed evidence.
According to the lawsuit, officers chasing Sanchez used their vehicles to hit his vehicle, causing him to lose control of his pickup. His vehicle hit a concrete barrier, flipped several times, and Sanchez was ejected from the vehicle, the lawsuit states.
Police Chief Richard Guillen denied this week that officers bumped Sanchez's vehicle. He said it's untrue that officers removed paint scrapings from Sanchez's vehicle.
The lawsuit— brought on Sanchez's behalf by his father, Mauricio Sanchez— seeks unspecified compensatory, actual and punitive damages. Among the defendants named in the suit are Guillen, the city of Española, its police department and the officers involved in the chase.
The defendants denied the allegations made against them in a June 22 court filing and say that Sanchez was at least partly to blame for fleeing from police.
The lawsuit was initially filed in state district court in May but was transferred to federal court in Albuquerque last week.
Guillen said no officers were disciplined over the incident, which occurred July 16, 2003.
"We totally reviewed it," he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "The officers followed protocol. It's unfortunate what happened to Mr. Sanchez."
Guillen said that at the time of the pursuit, all police knew was that there was an ongoing domestic abuse situation where a male was striking a female. He said that within a few minutes, one officer located the suspect. Sanchez ran a stop sign, and at that point officers needed to stop the vehicle, he said.
The chief said high-speed chases are necessary when it's a matter of life and death, when there's a danger of physical injury to someone, for DWI cases and for unknown felonies. Pursuing officers did not know at the time that Sanchez's behavior only rose to the level of a misdemeanor, Guillen said.
According to the lawsuit, Sanchez was a 43-year-old weapons inspector at Los Alamos National Laboratory when the incident occurred. The suit maintains that officers delayed calling for medical attention for Sanchez, further worsening his injuries.
"Mr. Sanchez is now undergoing serious rehabilitation, and to this day lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make significant responsible decisions concerning his person, which will likely impact him for the remainder of his life," the suit states.
The lawsuit alleges negligent supervision and training, excessive use of force and negligence, among other claims.
Española police were reckless when they chased a Dixon man on a winding, two-lane highway— a chase that left the man, Tito Sanchez, in a coma for more than eight months, a federal lawsuit contends.
The chase ended when Sanchez crashed his pickup into a concrete barrier on N.M. 68. Sanchez sustained major head injuries, a brain injury and a fractured spine and neck, according to the lawsuit, which also states that his mental and physical injuries are likely permanent.
The chase stemmed from a confrontation at an Española Sonic Drive-In between Sanchez and his daughter over her excessive cell phone bill and a past-due insurance payment. Police have said that Sanchez slammed his daughter's arm in a car door and punched her on the left temple during the argument.
Apparently wanting to cool off before the altercation escalated further, Sanchez hopped into his Ford Ranger pickup and drove off— unaware that someone had called police. When he noticed police chasing him, he tried to elude them. According to the lawsuit, officers ran other uninvolved motorists off the road while trying to stop Sanchez.
The police "knew or should have known that the danger created by the pursuit outweighed any immediate danger to the public if Mr. Sanchez would have remained at large," the lawsuit states.
The suit accuses the Española Police Department of allowing officers to engage in high-speed pursuits even when they aren't warranted. It also alleges that Española police destroyed evidence.
According to the lawsuit, officers chasing Sanchez used their vehicles to hit his vehicle, causing him to lose control of his pickup. His vehicle hit a concrete barrier, flipped several times, and Sanchez was ejected from the vehicle, the lawsuit states.
Police Chief Richard Guillen denied this week that officers bumped Sanchez's vehicle. He said it's untrue that officers removed paint scrapings from Sanchez's vehicle.
The lawsuit— brought on Sanchez's behalf by his father, Mauricio Sanchez— seeks unspecified compensatory, actual and punitive damages. Among the defendants named in the suit are Guillen, the city of Española, its police department and the officers involved in the chase.
The defendants denied the allegations made against them in a June 22 court filing and say that Sanchez was at least partly to blame for fleeing from police.
The lawsuit was initially filed in state district court in May but was transferred to federal court in Albuquerque last week.
Guillen said no officers were disciplined over the incident, which occurred July 16, 2003.
"We totally reviewed it," he said in a telephone interview on Tuesday. "The officers followed protocol. It's unfortunate what happened to Mr. Sanchez."
Guillen said that at the time of the pursuit, all police knew was that there was an ongoing domestic abuse situation where a male was striking a female. He said that within a few minutes, one officer located the suspect. Sanchez ran a stop sign, and at that point officers needed to stop the vehicle, he said.
The chief said high-speed chases are necessary when it's a matter of life and death, when there's a danger of physical injury to someone, for DWI cases and for unknown felonies. Pursuing officers did not know at the time that Sanchez's behavior only rose to the level of a misdemeanor, Guillen said.
According to the lawsuit, Sanchez was a 43-year-old weapons inspector at Los Alamos National Laboratory when the incident occurred. The suit maintains that officers delayed calling for medical attention for Sanchez, further worsening his injuries.
"Mr. Sanchez is now undergoing serious rehabilitation, and to this day lacks sufficient understanding or capacity to make significant responsible decisions concerning his person, which will likely impact him for the remainder of his life," the suit states.
The lawsuit alleges negligent supervision and training, excessive use of force and negligence, among other claims.
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.
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