10/6/2014
It is an explosive allegation of misconduct at the school where men and women learn to be our cops. If the allegations are true criminals could be freed from jail and their convictions could be overturned.
source
It's such a serious claim, that KOB took it straight to the top of New Mexico's law enforcement chain of command.
There are allegedly 185 police officers patrolling New Mexico without proper certification. It's an accusation so serious attorney Joe Campbell says it could free convicted criminals. Every arrest and every conviction could be called into question or even thrown out if the claim is true. The consequences for everyone are huge. So huge, the secretary of public safety is now speaking up.
Phil Gallegos is a former instructor at New Mexico's Law Enforcement Academy. He was fired last year and he says it's because of what he knew.
"Would you want doctors working on you, that weren't properly certified," asked Gallegos.
On March 9, 2012, Gallegos says he wrote a memo to then LEA director Louis Medina, worried curriculum for cadets including 'Use of Force' courses were out-of-date. He also wrote out concerns that updated curriculum hadn't been properly accredited, or certified by the department.
"And I told them, look... If we ever get called on the mat, they're going to ask for this stuff. They said 'don't worry about that. Use the best material you have,'" said Gallegos.
His memo warned if any officer trained at LEA were sued, their training would come into question and investigators wouldn't like what they saw. He says lesson plans for civil rights courses were sometimes decades out of date. So he gathered updated lesson plans from satellite academies.
"But it still had never been certified or accredited through DPS," said Gallegos.
"Over and over and over again: Police misconduct cases, police ethics problems, police shooting problems, and it emanates directly from the academy training," said Anthony Maxwell who was also fired from the academy.
He taught there at the same time Gallegos did. Along with George Puga, the three former instructors are suing the Department of Public Safety for wrongful termination. They say the pink slip came after they raised their voices about outdated and uncertified curriculum.
"Here's what in essence they were saying to us. There are 185 officers patrolling New Mexico, according to them, without proper certification. And every enforcement action they're taking, every motorist they're citing, every misdemeanor arrest they're making, every felony arrest they're making, are legally invalid. If you believe the plaintiffs," says Department of Public Safety secretary, Greg Fouratt.
Fouratt says even amid a pending lawsuit he has something to say publicly about those claims.
"These lawyers came to us, and they offered not to bring these claims in exchange for what turned out to be $6 million," said Fouratt.
Fouratt calls it a shakedown attempt.
"Here's the worst part about it all, not only did they say we won't bring these claims if you write a check big enough to satisfy us, but 'we will remain quiet about these claims for as long as we can. We will suppress them, we will engage in a cover-up, if you'd like, of these very serious claims,'" said Fouratt.
Fouratt says those 185 officers' certifications are valid, and will be proven valid in court, but Gallegos, Maxwell and Puga say they're prepared for the fight.
The attorney for the three men, Joe Campbell, says the $6 million offered was a settlement offer brought to DPS in June. He says the promised silence from his clients would have been part of a typical non-disclosure or confidentiality agreement.
KOB Eyewitness News 4 will continue to follow the allegations made in this case.
source
No comments:
Post a Comment