WHITE: Grateful report “has exonerated me”
An “overwhelming” amount of evidence showed the wife of then-city Public Safety boss Darren White might have been driving under the influence of prescription drugs when she crashed her Porsche into a curb on July 6.
But a report by city Independent Review Officer William Deaton said Darren White didn’t interfere and that it was the responding patrol officer who failed to investigate Kathleen White for DWI in violation of APD policy.
A redacted copy of Deaton’s findings and a synopsis of his report released Friday said that despite the fact paramedics and police officers said they “felt intimidated” by Darren White’s presence, he did not use his position to interfere with a criminal investigation when he arrived or when he drove his wife away.
Deaton also found White did not use his position to try to cover up circumstances of the crash.
However, White did violate city policy by showing up at the scene in his city vehicle with emergency equipment on, according to Deaton’s findings.
White hailed the report.
“I am grateful that the Independent Review Officer has exonerated me against the serious allegations that I interfered with the investigation into my wife’s crash and further found that I never used my position to improperly remove my wife from the scene,” he said in a statement.
“I’m further grateful that the IRO found that there was not ‘one piece of evidence’ that I tried to ‘influence anyone or try to cover-up the circumstances surrounding the accident.’ ”
White has maintained his wife suffered from a seizure before the crash, and he released medical records he said backed up that claim. He resigned July 20 amid questions surrounding the crash.
City officials released Deaton’s findings and synopsis via email late Friday afternoon.
An attached letter from Interim City Attorney Robert Kidd said the full report would not be released. Most of the names were redacted from the summary because of the collective bargaining agreement between the city and police union, “constitutional privacy concerns” and because “the disciplinary process is not complete,” he said.
Other findings
Deaton’s investigation also concluded:
♦ Deputy Police Chief Beth Paiz, whose name was not redacted, did not order an APD officer to remove from his police report references to prescription drugs Kathleen White was taking at the time of the crash.
An attorney for Officer Al Walck, the first APD officer to arrive at the crash, said last week Paiz had ordered him, through his sergeant, to remove the drug references.
♦ An APD officer — presumably Walck — violated department policy by not turning in his police report until three days after the crash.
Kathleen White ran her Porsche into a curb in the Northeast Heights shortly after 8 a.m. on July 6. Police and fire emergency personnel arrived at the scene, as did Darren White.
According to Deaton’s report, Darren White “repeatedly told people at the scene that he was going to take his wife to the hospital.”
The paramedics, according to Deaton’s findings, felt intimidated but were still able to carry out their duties. An unnamed person, presumably Walck, told Deaton he felt intimidated by White’s presence, which kept him from calling a supervisor to the scene.
An exchange at the scene detailed in Deaton’s report shows an unnamed officer, again presumably Walck, asked White: “What makes you think I’m not going to charge her?”
White responded: “Well, I guess it’s your scene.”
An unnamed person asked White: “Do I need to call a (drug recognition expert?)”
White’s response: “You need to do what you need to do in this situation. I’m not here to interfere; I’m here for my wife.”
Deaton’s investigation found an unnamed person eventually told White it was OK for him to drive his wife to the hospital.
In his report, Walck checked the box labeled “under the influence of drugs or medication” in a section titled “apparent contributing factors,” and another officer’s report said she and Walck discussed the possibility of a drug recognition expert being called to the scene. Kathleen White said she was taking two prescription medications, according to Walck’s report.
It is against the law to drive under the influence of alcohol or drugs, including prescription medications.
No DWI investigation was conducted and Police Chief Ray Schultz said five days after the crash there was no probable cause to do so.
White, city Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry and Schultz answered some questions about the incident at a July 11 news conference, during which they scolded the media for asking about the incident.
According to Walck’s report, Kathleen White told officers and paramedics that she was taking Lamictal for anxiety. According to the Physicians Desk Reference, Lamictal “may cause blurred vision or impair your thinking or reactions. Be careful if you drive or do anything that requires you to be alert and able to see clearly.”
Paiz cleared
According to Deaton’s investigation, Paiz became concerned when she saw Walck’s report because it mentioned a birth control medication Kathleen White was taking, “and she felt that no one has a right to know if a woman is on birth control.”
Paiz also was concerned Walck’s report listed other medications that could lead to the discovery of a medical condition White may have had, and that including it in the report could violate federal medical privacy laws, according to Deaton.
Paiz later learned that such inclusions in police reports are common, and she did not order — either directly or indirectly — the removal of references to the drugs.
Some city councilors have questioned whether Deaton had the authority to investigate the Kathleen White incident, and they plan to ask the city’s inspector general to do an investigation.
— This article appeared on page A1 of the Albuquerque Journal
Reprint story -- Email the reporter at jproctor@abqjournal.com. Call the reporter at 505-823-3951
