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Thursday, July 02, 2009
City To Pay $575,000 in Police Rape
By Scott Sandlin
Journal Staff Writer
The city of Albuquerque will pay $575,000, including attorney fees, to settle a civil lawsuit brought by a woman who said she was taken out of a hospital and raped by on-duty Albuquerque police officer David Maes.
The amount will be paid to Sylvia Cordova and her attorneys, Shannon and Joe Kennedy, to dismiss the civil rights action Cordova filed in state District Court last year.
Cordova alleged in the lawsuit that Maes was assigned to guard her after she'd been injured in an accident and taken to Lovelace Hospital. She claimed in the lawsuit that Maes took her from the hospital and raped her multiple times.
Deputy City Attorney Kathryn Levy said the settlement represents "an extremely limited exception" to Mayor Martin Chávez's "no settlement policy" with regard to police misconduct cases.
Levy said a "substantial" amount of the total would go toward a structured settlement that will provide income "while she moves forward with her life."
"It was determined that we did not want to revictimize Ms. Cordova by having her testify (in the civil case)," Levy said.
Maes still faces charges in a 2007 grand jury indictment, including criminal sexual penetration, kidnapping and criminal sexual contact. The case is pending before presiding Criminal Division District Judge Albert "Pat" Murdoch, with a current trial setting of Sept. 28.
Former Judge Wendy York acted as mediator for the settlement discussions.
Shannon Kennedy said Maes never should have been hired — a contention disputed by Levy, who said it was APD that investigated and arrested him.
"This is not a case about policy. APD's policies are sound," Levy said.
Kennedy said tests showed Maes was unfit for duty.
"After being hired, he engaged in conduct that should have led to his termination" before the incident with Cordova, Kennedy said.
She said her client, who has battled drug addiction, is now on probation with a conditional discharge and is clean. "She now has an opportunity to put her life together," Kennedy said.
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