Maywood Police Department Accused of Brutality and Abuse
http://uprisingradio.org/home/?p=1431
GUESTS: Joaquin Cienfuegos, Copwatch LA and Revolutionary Autonomous Communities, Ramon Medina, former President of the Maywood Police Commission
The City of Maywood’s police department has come under increasing criticism in recent months. Community members and organizations, such as Padres Unidos de Maywood, have accused the department of corruption, brutality and abuse. A recent Los Angeles Times investigation revealed that at least a third of Maywood’s 37 member police force had been hired despite having questionable past records which included terminations from other agencies for misconduct and brushes with the law. Following the investigative report, interim police chief, Richard Lyons, who himself has a criminal background, promised police reforms. Among the officers hired by the Maywood Police Department are Frank Garcia, who was charged with drunk driving and firing his weapon negligently. Among the allegations of police abuse is the case of a Maywood police officer impregnating a 15 year old teenager who rode along with patrols as a police explorer. Community members and lawyers have filed numerous lawsuits against the city. The Maywood Police Department is also being currently investigated by the FBI, the California attorney general, and the LA County district attorney.
Wednesday, April 18, 2007
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
Officer Won't Be Charged in Death
Wednesday, March 21, 2007
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
A 12-member grand jury decided this week not to indict an Albuquerque police officer whose speeding patrol car struck and killed a grandmother in May.
Family members of 73-year-old Flora Aragon said Tuesday they are angry at the justice system and feel that officer Zachariah Floyd should be charged with something.
"We don't think it is right. We don't think it is fair," said Aragon's granddaughter Denise Baker. "Police officers can do whatever they want. They pretty much own our streets. If it was you or I, we would be sitting in front of a judge right now being sentenced."
On May 21, officer Floyd, 23, was responding to a domestic violence call in which a man was trying to remove a child from a home just after midnight near 53rd and Central. On the way, his car hit a block wall and went into a yard where Aragon was outside chatting with family members. The car pinned Aragon against a picnic table, killing her.
Floyd was trying to pass a truck on a two-lane street when the vehicle turned in front of him, causing the officer to swerve and lose control.
During a six-month internal affairs investigation, police determined that Floyd was driving his cruiser 43 mph in a 25-mph zone.
In January, police Chief Ray Schultz suspended Floyd for three weeks without pay for speeding and making a dangerous pass.
Deputy District Attorney Gary Cade said his office presented to the grand jury witnesses who saw what happened, and who were not police officers.
He also noted that a multi-jurisdictional team investigated the crash and rendered its findings to the grand jury.
"We presented information about what happened, and we did not attempt to shade it one way or the other," Cade said. "We presented information from almost all of the witnesses, and the grand jury made its decision and we respect that."
By T.J. Wilham
Journal Staff Writer
A 12-member grand jury decided this week not to indict an Albuquerque police officer whose speeding patrol car struck and killed a grandmother in May.
Family members of 73-year-old Flora Aragon said Tuesday they are angry at the justice system and feel that officer Zachariah Floyd should be charged with something.
"We don't think it is right. We don't think it is fair," said Aragon's granddaughter Denise Baker. "Police officers can do whatever they want. They pretty much own our streets. If it was you or I, we would be sitting in front of a judge right now being sentenced."
On May 21, officer Floyd, 23, was responding to a domestic violence call in which a man was trying to remove a child from a home just after midnight near 53rd and Central. On the way, his car hit a block wall and went into a yard where Aragon was outside chatting with family members. The car pinned Aragon against a picnic table, killing her.
Floyd was trying to pass a truck on a two-lane street when the vehicle turned in front of him, causing the officer to swerve and lose control.
During a six-month internal affairs investigation, police determined that Floyd was driving his cruiser 43 mph in a 25-mph zone.
In January, police Chief Ray Schultz suspended Floyd for three weeks without pay for speeding and making a dangerous pass.
Deputy District Attorney Gary Cade said his office presented to the grand jury witnesses who saw what happened, and who were not police officers.
He also noted that a multi-jurisdictional team investigated the crash and rendered its findings to the grand jury.
"We presented information about what happened, and we did not attempt to shade it one way or the other," Cade said. "We presented information from almost all of the witnesses, and the grand jury made its decision and we respect that."
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Deputy: Fellow Officers Raped Me
By Rozanna M. Martinez, Journal Staff Writer
State Police are investigating claims by a female Sandoval County sheriff's deputy that she was raped by other deputies at a party in December.
Sandoval County Sheriff John Paul Trujillo told the Journal on Friday he contacted State Police as soon has he received information about the alleged assault.
The incident involved off-duty sheriff's officers and occurred in December outside the sheriff's department's jurisdiction, Trujillo said.
"I had an outside source look into it so they could verify or see if there was a criminal act that took place," Trujillo said. "At this point we don't know, it's in State Police hands."
Trujillo said he could not comment further.
State Police spokesman Lt. Rick Anglada said his agency was notified by the sheriff's department Thursday and began its investigation the same day.
"We were asked to conduct an investigation on the incident that was reported internally (in the sheriff's office) through the chain of command," Anglada said. "The allegations are that a female deputy reported to them that there was some type of party in December and in it she is claiming to have been provided alcohol... She's alleged some male deputies raped her."
Anglada did not know Friday the number of deputies alleged to have been involved.
Several witnesses and suspects as well as the accuser need to be interviewed, Anglada said.
"It happened back in December, so there's obviously no physical evidence to go by," Anglada said.
Once the State Police investigation is concluded, it is expected to be turned over to the appropriate district attorney's office for possible prosecution, Anglada said.
State Police are investigating claims by a female Sandoval County sheriff's deputy that she was raped by other deputies at a party in December.
Sandoval County Sheriff John Paul Trujillo told the Journal on Friday he contacted State Police as soon has he received information about the alleged assault.
The incident involved off-duty sheriff's officers and occurred in December outside the sheriff's department's jurisdiction, Trujillo said.
"I had an outside source look into it so they could verify or see if there was a criminal act that took place," Trujillo said. "At this point we don't know, it's in State Police hands."
Trujillo said he could not comment further.
State Police spokesman Lt. Rick Anglada said his agency was notified by the sheriff's department Thursday and began its investigation the same day.
"We were asked to conduct an investigation on the incident that was reported internally (in the sheriff's office) through the chain of command," Anglada said. "The allegations are that a female deputy reported to them that there was some type of party in December and in it she is claiming to have been provided alcohol... She's alleged some male deputies raped her."
Anglada did not know Friday the number of deputies alleged to have been involved.
Several witnesses and suspects as well as the accuser need to be interviewed, Anglada said.
"It happened back in December, so there's obviously no physical evidence to go by," Anglada said.
Once the State Police investigation is concluded, it is expected to be turned over to the appropriate district attorney's office for possible prosecution, Anglada said.
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, March 6, 2007
Trial Begins In Death; Police Sued Over Shooting of Teen
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
By Carolyn Carlson
Journal Staff Writer
Attorneys in a civil wrongful death trial against two Albuquerque Police Department officers began to paint a picture of events leading up to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Eric Harrison in 2003.
"There are two sides to every story or we would not be here," Phillip A. Martinez, one of Harrison's family attorneys, said during opening statements in the federal trial.
On Nov. 29, 2003, 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, according to police reports.
Officer Brad Ahrensfield is also named in the lawsuit.
Martinez and attorney Miguel Campos filed the lawsuit on Nov. 28, 2005, the day before the statute of limitations would have run out.
On Monday, Martinez said Harrison was a good kid who had been punched in the face by Salazar when Harrison tried to get his bicycle back from Salazar, who Harrison thought had stolen it.
"Eric grabbed the bike and they fought, but Eric never hit Cipriano," Martinez said.
He added that two eyewitnesses will testify to that as well.
Martinez said testimony will show that Thompson then held a gun to one of the eyewitnesses' head.
"Did the police act prudently and responsibly and could they have done something different?" Martinez said. That was the question the jury must ponder, he said.
Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Levy in her opening statements said Harrison was full of rage and fueled by alcohol and cocaine at the time.
"This case is about the one thing every officer thinks about every day. That they might have to take the life of one person to save the life of another," Levy said. "These police officers took the only actions they could take to save the life of the victim."
According to police reports, Thompson and Ahrensfield confronted Harrison and Salazar, who were fighting over a bicycle with a T-ball bat. Thompson saw Harrison beating Salazar in the head and ordered Harrison to stop, but Harrison struck Salazar again with the bat. Harrison was in a striking position when Thompson shot him, the reports said.
The lawsuit contends the officers used excessive force and were negligent and reckless. And it contends that, although Ahrensfield did not fire his weapon, he did not take any action to dissuade Thompson from firing the fatal shots.
Salazar was taken to an area hospital and was released four days later.
By Carolyn Carlson
Journal Staff Writer
Attorneys in a civil wrongful death trial against two Albuquerque Police Department officers began to paint a picture of events leading up to the fatal shooting of 17-year-old Eric Harrison in 2003.
"There are two sides to every story or we would not be here," Phillip A. Martinez, one of Harrison's family attorneys, said during opening statements in the federal trial.
On Nov. 29, 2003, 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, according to police reports.
Officer Brad Ahrensfield is also named in the lawsuit.
Martinez and attorney Miguel Campos filed the lawsuit on Nov. 28, 2005, the day before the statute of limitations would have run out.
On Monday, Martinez said Harrison was a good kid who had been punched in the face by Salazar when Harrison tried to get his bicycle back from Salazar, who Harrison thought had stolen it.
"Eric grabbed the bike and they fought, but Eric never hit Cipriano," Martinez said.
He added that two eyewitnesses will testify to that as well.
Martinez said testimony will show that Thompson then held a gun to one of the eyewitnesses' head.
"Did the police act prudently and responsibly and could they have done something different?" Martinez said. That was the question the jury must ponder, he said.
Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Levy in her opening statements said Harrison was full of rage and fueled by alcohol and cocaine at the time.
"This case is about the one thing every officer thinks about every day. That they might have to take the life of one person to save the life of another," Levy said. "These police officers took the only actions they could take to save the life of the victim."
According to police reports, Thompson and Ahrensfield confronted Harrison and Salazar, who were fighting over a bicycle with a T-ball bat. Thompson saw Harrison beating Salazar in the head and ordered Harrison to stop, but Harrison struck Salazar again with the bat. Harrison was in a striking position when Thompson shot him, the reports said.
The lawsuit contends the officers used excessive force and were negligent and reckless. And it contends that, although Ahrensfield did not fire his weapon, he did not take any action to dissuade Thompson from firing the fatal shots.
Salazar was taken to an area hospital and was released four days later.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
APS Top Cop Finds Himself on Hot Seat
By Colleen Heild, Journal Investigative Reporter
Nearly 17 years ago, Gil Lovato took the reins of a school police agency racked by controversy.
Now, as the veteran chief of the Albuquerque Public Schools police department, it is Lovato who finds himself on the hot seat.
He's been on paid leave since Jan. 6, pending an internal audit of the school police department that still isn't complete. Normally, such audits take two weeks.
Outside private investigators have also been called in.
The scope of the inquiry has broadened beyond the initial examination of whether evidence room money was mishandled.
Investigators in recent weeks have been questioning whether Lovato took liberties in running his department and whether he improperly directed APS resources to benefit one of his supervisors.
They've also been looking at several investigations he ordered.
Lovato, 60, has declined to comment publicly since being placed on leave.
"The only thing I can accuse myself of is working hard," he told the Journal last month.
The supervisor, Cynthia West, oversees the eight-person dispatch unit of the school police. She is a 20-year APS employee whose husband works as a school police lieutenant.
West referred questions to her attorney, Kari Morrissey, who said last week she wouldn't comment about specifics because of the ongoing investigation.
"What I can tell you is that I have talked to her (West) and she feels absolutely 100 percent confident that she has behaved professionally and ethically," Morrissey said. "She's never engaged in any type of misconduct, and we expect that this investigation is going to yield those results."
School district officials— who had been sweating out a mill levy election until last week's "yes" vote— remain tight-lipped about the department probe.
They have ordered police employees not to talk and say they don't know whether any aspect of the investigation results will ever be made public.
Journal interviews with current and former school employees, along with documents obtained by the Journal, provide insight into areas of inquiry.
For instance, during Lovato's tenure:
Nineteen people have contacted the school district's Equal Employment Opportunity office to complain about personnel issues in the police agency. Twelve of the complaints name Lovato as a respondent. Allegations include harassment, use of abusive language, sex discrimination and sexual harassment. APS won't say how any of those were resolved.
Hundreds of dollars seized as evidence were moved to the police agency's petty cash fund when the money should have been returned to district coffers.
No documentation exists for deposits into the petty cash fund and records are missing as to how money was spent.
West earned more than $5,000 in overtime last year. While on vacation, she was permitted to add to her paycheck by selling compensatory time back to APS.
During her monthlong vacation, Lovato made 91 calls to West on his APS cell phone, records show.
Lovato approved installing a high-tech surveillance camera at West's home and sent a team of APS detectives to Texas to investigate a suspect accused of harassing her on the telephone— a misdemeanor. No charges have followed.
West is the only civilian in the school district who has a take-home car. She drives an unmarked police car in an agency where a lack of vehicles has forced school police employees to double up or use personal cars to answer calls.
Taking over a 'mess'
Back in 1990, Lovato won out over 69 candidates who wanted to head what was then called APS school security.
Lovato had been a captain with the Albuquerque Police Department at the time— winding up a career that had its ups and downs.
He had a disciplinary record and was sent to "anger management," according to a newspaper account in 1985.
Lovato called it "conflict management" and noted he had 80 letters of recommendation in his personnel file.
Three days after retiring from APD, Lovato took over a school district police agency that outside auditors had characterized as a "mess" and "a disaster area."
The agency of 130 employees is now called the APS Police Department and handles security and law enforcement duties for an 89,000-student district of 131 schools, according to the APS police Web site.
Since Lovato took over as chief, his annual salary has jumped from $37,879 to $77,597. The agency's annual budget has nearly tripled and is now an estimated $2.7 million.
'Unethical activity'
APS documents show that, since the early 1990s, 12 of 19 people who contacted the district's EEO office about police department-related issues complained specifically about Lovato.
Of those who complained, one is a well-known high school principal; another is a high-ranking APS official.
APS spokesman Rigo Chavez wouldn't reveal the outcome of any of the complaints.
In November, a former school police campus service aide filed a lawsuit against APS alleging employment discrimination, retaliation and harassment.
Christine Apodaca alleges that Lovato denied her the opportunity to become a sworn law enforcement officer. She also accused him of belittling her in staff meetings, creating a hostile work environment and intimidating and threatening her.
At least two unsigned letters were sent to APS officials over the past six months alleging, in the words of one letter, "immoral and unethical activity that has been taking place in our police department."
The allegations weren't officially investigated until APS internal auditor Alan Wesson received information in January about problems with the school police evidence room.
Take-home car
Back in 1997, a member of the APS Board of Education asked during a public meeting why the school police dispatch supervisor needed a take-home car when district finances were tight.
Lovato, according to a news report at the time, replied that the dispatch supervisor also served as the evidence clerk and was on call to enter crime evidence, such as confiscated items.
School district spokesman Chavez said the APS police organizational chart currently shows West as having responsibility for evidence, "but she has not actually had that responsibility for the past three years."
More recently, employees say, Lovato has defended West's take-home car, describing it as a "mobile communications dispatch center."
Last year, APS budget cutbacks forced about three dozen district administrators to give up their take-home cars, according to news reports.
But West was allowed to keep her car. Chavez said APS officials concluded that West and school police were deemed to be "emergency responders" and needed cars.
A Journal survey of UNM police, APD and Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department shows none of their dispatch supervisors is permitted a take-home car.
The shortage of APS police cars in recent months has forced some police officials to drive personal vehicles on the job.
Meanwhile, campus police aides have been doubling up or tripling in police vehicles because there aren't enough cars to go around.
Two new vehicles are expected to arrive later this month.
$5,100 in overtime
Investigators have also been looking into compensation issues.
West, who earns $46,597 annually, claimed more than $5,100 in overtime in 2006.
Nearly all of it was for working on Saturdays or Sundays.
Most of the overtime was claimed in the latter part of 2006, while West accrued more than 128 hours of compensatory time from June 2005 to May 2006.
Her reasons for the extra work were listed as "dispatch" or "dispatch shortage."
Lovato generally signed off on her overtime.
At times, her husband, Lt. Dave West, signed on Lovato's behalf.
Since Lovato was placed on leave Jan. 6, West hasn't claimed any overtime. She had two hours of compensatory time last month.
Last September, West announced in an internal e-mail that she would be on annual leave from Sept. 23 to Oct. 23 and an acting supervisor would take her place.
West used 80 hours of compensatory time for the first two weeks and then took two weeks vacation leave.
Investigators looked into a tip that she had paid overtime while she was on vacation.
West was paid $304.10 in overtime following the week ending Oct. 6.
But records show the overtime was for work she did in early September, before going on vacation.
Records also show West sold back 20 hours of her accrued compensatory time to APS last October.
Spokesman Chavez said he is not aware of any written policy allowing such a practice. He said it "is not a common practice," but added, that "it is not unheard of."
Cell phone calls
Investigators have also been looking at Lovato's cell phone calls.
A Journal review of APS phone bills shows 460 calls were placed from Lovato's APS-issued cell phone to West's private cell phone during a six-month period from June 11 to Dec. 12 last year.
During that time period, Lovato received 261 calls from West's private cell phone.
Roughly 60 percent of the calls occurred after 5 p.m., on weekends or while West was on vacation.
The dispatch office said West typically works days, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Dec. 4, records show 56 calls from Lovato's APS phone to West's. The calls were made between 5:14 p.m. and 11:56 p.m.
During West's vacation— which included a trip to Europe— 91 calls were made from Lovato's phone to West's.
More recent records weren't available from APS.
Surveillance camera
Last May, the school police dispatch office began receiving hang-up calls. Then an anonymous caller began targeting Lovato and West in calls peppered with insults and abusive language.
Before it was over, Lovato had put four different officers and a police computer technician on the case, which was a misdemeanor crime.
Two APS detectives traveled to Odessa, Texas, to interview a suspect, and Lovato ordered a low-light night vision surveillance camera installed at West's home.
The investigation was estimated to have cost more than $6,000 in overtime and travel.
No arrests related to the telephone harassment case have been made. The camera can still be seen outside West's far Northeast home.
Evidence room cash
The issue that triggered the current inquiry was whether money seized as evidence from students during campus drug busts ended up being improperly converted to the petty cash fund controlled by Lovato.
Lovato said in early January that his agency's petty cash fund amounted to only a few dollars a month, collected from copying charges for police reports requested by the public.
But APS could produce no ledger or accounting for the fund over the past three years. APS was also unable to produce any records of deposits, even from fees for copying police reports.
More than a dozen handwritten receipts APS turned over show Lovato tapped the fund to buy bottled water, soda for the office, and to get his patrol car washed in 2004 and 2006.
There were no receipts for the year 2005.
APS records show at least $300 was transferred to the petty cash fund after being seized as evidence and forfeited by a District Court judge in 2005.
Other records obtained by the Journal show $1,085 was placed in a police department safe in late 1998— only to be depleted by a series of withdrawals.
One document has handwritten entries showing six withdrawals of $165 or more at various times during 1999.
The withdrawals appear to have been made by Lovato or his secretary, and most carry his initials.
One handwritten note dated Sept. 23, 1999, states "$300 to Gil Lovato." Underneath that sentence is another handwritten note stating, "Returned $300 on 10/6/99."
Another note dated Dec. 30, 1999, states "$200 to G. Lovato for flashlight Y2K."
By September 2000, the last $165 was removed from the fund.
"New balance from evidence is 0," states a handwritten notation.
State law requires that money seized as evidence or "fruits of a crime" be returned either to the rightful owner or be forfeited.
If a judge had approved a forfeiture, the money should have been returned to the APS general fund where administrators could allocate it back to the police department, according to former APS business officer Michael Vigil.
Vigil said he would never have approved a loan from the fund.
Lovato has said the money was transferred appropriately and was used to buy office supplies.
Independent agency
When Lovato was tapped for the APS job, he faced a major public relations task.
His predecessor, security chief Daryl Harrell, had resigned in the wake of a Journal investigative report.
According to story published in February 1990, Harrell and his operations assistant, Roxie Joyner, had spent work time together in a Sandia Mountains cabin.
The story also reported Joyner had collected $25,000 overtime in a 30-month period. The Bernalillo County district attorney and the Albuquerque Police Department launched a joint investigation.
No criminal charges were filed. But the APS-funded audit that followed was highly critical, citing a lack of accountability and professionalism within the department.
School board member Leonard DeLayo was quoted back then as saying his primary concern is "what kind of system do we have that lends itself to no accountability."
DeLayo, who didn't seek re-election and leaves the board March 1, said in a recent interview that he has heard nothing negative about the APS police agency with Lovato as chief.
He added, "I think one of the issues with that department is that it traditionally has been independent, and I think as a result of that independence things tend to get skewed."
Nearly 17 years ago, Gil Lovato took the reins of a school police agency racked by controversy.
Now, as the veteran chief of the Albuquerque Public Schools police department, it is Lovato who finds himself on the hot seat.
He's been on paid leave since Jan. 6, pending an internal audit of the school police department that still isn't complete. Normally, such audits take two weeks.
Outside private investigators have also been called in.
The scope of the inquiry has broadened beyond the initial examination of whether evidence room money was mishandled.
Investigators in recent weeks have been questioning whether Lovato took liberties in running his department and whether he improperly directed APS resources to benefit one of his supervisors.
They've also been looking at several investigations he ordered.
Lovato, 60, has declined to comment publicly since being placed on leave.
"The only thing I can accuse myself of is working hard," he told the Journal last month.
The supervisor, Cynthia West, oversees the eight-person dispatch unit of the school police. She is a 20-year APS employee whose husband works as a school police lieutenant.
West referred questions to her attorney, Kari Morrissey, who said last week she wouldn't comment about specifics because of the ongoing investigation.
"What I can tell you is that I have talked to her (West) and she feels absolutely 100 percent confident that she has behaved professionally and ethically," Morrissey said. "She's never engaged in any type of misconduct, and we expect that this investigation is going to yield those results."
School district officials— who had been sweating out a mill levy election until last week's "yes" vote— remain tight-lipped about the department probe.
They have ordered police employees not to talk and say they don't know whether any aspect of the investigation results will ever be made public.
Journal interviews with current and former school employees, along with documents obtained by the Journal, provide insight into areas of inquiry.
For instance, during Lovato's tenure:
Nineteen people have contacted the school district's Equal Employment Opportunity office to complain about personnel issues in the police agency. Twelve of the complaints name Lovato as a respondent. Allegations include harassment, use of abusive language, sex discrimination and sexual harassment. APS won't say how any of those were resolved.
Hundreds of dollars seized as evidence were moved to the police agency's petty cash fund when the money should have been returned to district coffers.
No documentation exists for deposits into the petty cash fund and records are missing as to how money was spent.
West earned more than $5,000 in overtime last year. While on vacation, she was permitted to add to her paycheck by selling compensatory time back to APS.
During her monthlong vacation, Lovato made 91 calls to West on his APS cell phone, records show.
Lovato approved installing a high-tech surveillance camera at West's home and sent a team of APS detectives to Texas to investigate a suspect accused of harassing her on the telephone— a misdemeanor. No charges have followed.
West is the only civilian in the school district who has a take-home car. She drives an unmarked police car in an agency where a lack of vehicles has forced school police employees to double up or use personal cars to answer calls.
Taking over a 'mess'
Back in 1990, Lovato won out over 69 candidates who wanted to head what was then called APS school security.
Lovato had been a captain with the Albuquerque Police Department at the time— winding up a career that had its ups and downs.
He had a disciplinary record and was sent to "anger management," according to a newspaper account in 1985.
Lovato called it "conflict management" and noted he had 80 letters of recommendation in his personnel file.
Three days after retiring from APD, Lovato took over a school district police agency that outside auditors had characterized as a "mess" and "a disaster area."
The agency of 130 employees is now called the APS Police Department and handles security and law enforcement duties for an 89,000-student district of 131 schools, according to the APS police Web site.
Since Lovato took over as chief, his annual salary has jumped from $37,879 to $77,597. The agency's annual budget has nearly tripled and is now an estimated $2.7 million.
'Unethical activity'
APS documents show that, since the early 1990s, 12 of 19 people who contacted the district's EEO office about police department-related issues complained specifically about Lovato.
Of those who complained, one is a well-known high school principal; another is a high-ranking APS official.
APS spokesman Rigo Chavez wouldn't reveal the outcome of any of the complaints.
In November, a former school police campus service aide filed a lawsuit against APS alleging employment discrimination, retaliation and harassment.
Christine Apodaca alleges that Lovato denied her the opportunity to become a sworn law enforcement officer. She also accused him of belittling her in staff meetings, creating a hostile work environment and intimidating and threatening her.
At least two unsigned letters were sent to APS officials over the past six months alleging, in the words of one letter, "immoral and unethical activity that has been taking place in our police department."
The allegations weren't officially investigated until APS internal auditor Alan Wesson received information in January about problems with the school police evidence room.
Take-home car
Back in 1997, a member of the APS Board of Education asked during a public meeting why the school police dispatch supervisor needed a take-home car when district finances were tight.
Lovato, according to a news report at the time, replied that the dispatch supervisor also served as the evidence clerk and was on call to enter crime evidence, such as confiscated items.
School district spokesman Chavez said the APS police organizational chart currently shows West as having responsibility for evidence, "but she has not actually had that responsibility for the past three years."
More recently, employees say, Lovato has defended West's take-home car, describing it as a "mobile communications dispatch center."
Last year, APS budget cutbacks forced about three dozen district administrators to give up their take-home cars, according to news reports.
But West was allowed to keep her car. Chavez said APS officials concluded that West and school police were deemed to be "emergency responders" and needed cars.
A Journal survey of UNM police, APD and Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department shows none of their dispatch supervisors is permitted a take-home car.
The shortage of APS police cars in recent months has forced some police officials to drive personal vehicles on the job.
Meanwhile, campus police aides have been doubling up or tripling in police vehicles because there aren't enough cars to go around.
Two new vehicles are expected to arrive later this month.
$5,100 in overtime
Investigators have also been looking into compensation issues.
West, who earns $46,597 annually, claimed more than $5,100 in overtime in 2006.
Nearly all of it was for working on Saturdays or Sundays.
Most of the overtime was claimed in the latter part of 2006, while West accrued more than 128 hours of compensatory time from June 2005 to May 2006.
Her reasons for the extra work were listed as "dispatch" or "dispatch shortage."
Lovato generally signed off on her overtime.
At times, her husband, Lt. Dave West, signed on Lovato's behalf.
Since Lovato was placed on leave Jan. 6, West hasn't claimed any overtime. She had two hours of compensatory time last month.
Last September, West announced in an internal e-mail that she would be on annual leave from Sept. 23 to Oct. 23 and an acting supervisor would take her place.
West used 80 hours of compensatory time for the first two weeks and then took two weeks vacation leave.
Investigators looked into a tip that she had paid overtime while she was on vacation.
West was paid $304.10 in overtime following the week ending Oct. 6.
But records show the overtime was for work she did in early September, before going on vacation.
Records also show West sold back 20 hours of her accrued compensatory time to APS last October.
Spokesman Chavez said he is not aware of any written policy allowing such a practice. He said it "is not a common practice," but added, that "it is not unheard of."
Cell phone calls
Investigators have also been looking at Lovato's cell phone calls.
A Journal review of APS phone bills shows 460 calls were placed from Lovato's APS-issued cell phone to West's private cell phone during a six-month period from June 11 to Dec. 12 last year.
During that time period, Lovato received 261 calls from West's private cell phone.
Roughly 60 percent of the calls occurred after 5 p.m., on weekends or while West was on vacation.
The dispatch office said West typically works days, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
On Dec. 4, records show 56 calls from Lovato's APS phone to West's. The calls were made between 5:14 p.m. and 11:56 p.m.
During West's vacation— which included a trip to Europe— 91 calls were made from Lovato's phone to West's.
More recent records weren't available from APS.
Surveillance camera
Last May, the school police dispatch office began receiving hang-up calls. Then an anonymous caller began targeting Lovato and West in calls peppered with insults and abusive language.
Before it was over, Lovato had put four different officers and a police computer technician on the case, which was a misdemeanor crime.
Two APS detectives traveled to Odessa, Texas, to interview a suspect, and Lovato ordered a low-light night vision surveillance camera installed at West's home.
The investigation was estimated to have cost more than $6,000 in overtime and travel.
No arrests related to the telephone harassment case have been made. The camera can still be seen outside West's far Northeast home.
Evidence room cash
The issue that triggered the current inquiry was whether money seized as evidence from students during campus drug busts ended up being improperly converted to the petty cash fund controlled by Lovato.
Lovato said in early January that his agency's petty cash fund amounted to only a few dollars a month, collected from copying charges for police reports requested by the public.
But APS could produce no ledger or accounting for the fund over the past three years. APS was also unable to produce any records of deposits, even from fees for copying police reports.
More than a dozen handwritten receipts APS turned over show Lovato tapped the fund to buy bottled water, soda for the office, and to get his patrol car washed in 2004 and 2006.
There were no receipts for the year 2005.
APS records show at least $300 was transferred to the petty cash fund after being seized as evidence and forfeited by a District Court judge in 2005.
Other records obtained by the Journal show $1,085 was placed in a police department safe in late 1998— only to be depleted by a series of withdrawals.
One document has handwritten entries showing six withdrawals of $165 or more at various times during 1999.
The withdrawals appear to have been made by Lovato or his secretary, and most carry his initials.
One handwritten note dated Sept. 23, 1999, states "$300 to Gil Lovato." Underneath that sentence is another handwritten note stating, "Returned $300 on 10/6/99."
Another note dated Dec. 30, 1999, states "$200 to G. Lovato for flashlight Y2K."
By September 2000, the last $165 was removed from the fund.
"New balance from evidence is 0," states a handwritten notation.
State law requires that money seized as evidence or "fruits of a crime" be returned either to the rightful owner or be forfeited.
If a judge had approved a forfeiture, the money should have been returned to the APS general fund where administrators could allocate it back to the police department, according to former APS business officer Michael Vigil.
Vigil said he would never have approved a loan from the fund.
Lovato has said the money was transferred appropriately and was used to buy office supplies.
Independent agency
When Lovato was tapped for the APS job, he faced a major public relations task.
His predecessor, security chief Daryl Harrell, had resigned in the wake of a Journal investigative report.
According to story published in February 1990, Harrell and his operations assistant, Roxie Joyner, had spent work time together in a Sandia Mountains cabin.
The story also reported Joyner had collected $25,000 overtime in a 30-month period. The Bernalillo County district attorney and the Albuquerque Police Department launched a joint investigation.
No criminal charges were filed. But the APS-funded audit that followed was highly critical, citing a lack of accountability and professionalism within the department.
School board member Leonard DeLayo was quoted back then as saying his primary concern is "what kind of system do we have that lends itself to no accountability."
DeLayo, who didn't seek re-election and leaves the board March 1, said in a recent interview that he has heard nothing negative about the APS police agency with Lovato as chief.
He added, "I think one of the issues with that department is that it traditionally has been independent, and I think as a result of that independence things tend to get skewed."
Friday, January 19, 2007
Victim's relative: Cop had lax penalty
By Michael Gisick, Abq Tribune
Friday, January 19, 2007
The granddaughter of the 74-year-old woman killed last year when an Albuquerque police officer lost control of his car and crashed says the officer's three-week suspension isn't nearly enough punishment.
"If he were a regular person, he would be charged with reckless driving or voluntary manslaughter," Denise Baker said. "Instead, in our eyes he gets a vacation while our family suffers every day."
Baker said she had been told the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office would take the case before a grand jury in March to determine whether Zachariah Floyd, 23, broke any laws. She said the officer should be suspended until then.
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said the case likely would be taken to grand jury, though she said she couldn't confirm when.
"Car accidents do happen, and there isn't always a crime involved," she said. "The issue here is whether any laws were broken."
Police confirmed this week that Floyd had been suspended over the incident and said the case had been forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for review.
A police investigation following the May 21 crash found that Floyd was speeding through a neighborhood as he responded to a domestic violence call.
He swerved to avoid another vehicle, then hit a brick wall at 5208 Crestview Place S.W. The impact killed Flora Aragon and injured her daughter and a family friend.
Baker said Police Chief Ray Schultz called her Wednesday and told her Floyd had been suspended for three weeks.
"He said that was the longest he could suspend him because of the union," she said.
Police spokesman John Walsh said department rules prohibit him from confirming the length of the suspension, saying only that it was "substantial."
He said Floyd would return to patrol duties following the suspension and would also be required to talk to cadet classes about his experience.
Friday, January 19, 2007
The granddaughter of the 74-year-old woman killed last year when an Albuquerque police officer lost control of his car and crashed says the officer's three-week suspension isn't nearly enough punishment.
"If he were a regular person, he would be charged with reckless driving or voluntary manslaughter," Denise Baker said. "Instead, in our eyes he gets a vacation while our family suffers every day."
Baker said she had been told the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office would take the case before a grand jury in March to determine whether Zachariah Floyd, 23, broke any laws. She said the officer should be suspended until then.
District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said the case likely would be taken to grand jury, though she said she couldn't confirm when.
"Car accidents do happen, and there isn't always a crime involved," she said. "The issue here is whether any laws were broken."
Police confirmed this week that Floyd had been suspended over the incident and said the case had been forwarded to the District Attorney's Office for review.
A police investigation following the May 21 crash found that Floyd was speeding through a neighborhood as he responded to a domestic violence call.
He swerved to avoid another vehicle, then hit a brick wall at 5208 Crestview Place S.W. The impact killed Flora Aragon and injured her daughter and a family friend.
Baker said Police Chief Ray Schultz called her Wednesday and told her Floyd had been suspended for three weeks.
"He said that was the longest he could suspend him because of the union," she said.
Police spokesman John Walsh said department rules prohibit him from confirming the length of the suspension, saying only that it was "substantial."
He said Floyd would return to patrol duties following the suspension and would also be required to talk to cadet classes about his experience.
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