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Saturday, July 04, 2009
Agency: Report Officer Misconduct
Journal Southern Bureau
LAS CRUCES — The director of the state Law Enforcement Academy is proposing a measure aimed at pressuring heads of law enforcement agencies around the state to report officer misconduct.
The proposal is designed to prevent officers who are fired or who resign because of misconduct or criminal behavior from moving to another agency without some review by the Law Enforcement Academy Board, which can suspend or revoke an officer's state certification.
"The majority of agencies are in compliance, but there are some that are not," said Arthur Ortiz, director of the Santa Fe-based Law Enforcement Academy.
Ortiz has asked the academy board, headed by Attorney General Gary King, to consider requiring police chiefs and sheriffs to sign and file quarterly reports verifying they have reported cases of officer misconduct to the state for review.
Ortiz said he plans to bring the proposal to the Law Enforcement Academy Board in September.
"I do think we have to send a message that we intend to hold agencies accountable for reporting," LEA board member Robert Force said this week.
Ortiz cited several examples of officers who moved from department to department without state review. In one case, an officer who was fired by the Santa Rosa Police Department for undisclosed reasons was later hired by two other departments before Ortiz became aware of his case.
Another recent case involves a former Mesilla deputy who resigned from the force in January, more than three months after he was charged with careless driving and DWI for allegedly driving his motorcycle into a ditch while off-duty in rural Doña Ana County.
The deputy's boss, the Mesilla marshal, did not report the case to Ortiz, and when the marshal took a job as chief of the Columbus Police Department, he rehired his former deputy. Ortiz said he learned about that case from a reporter.
Ortiz said some law enforcement officials believe they only have to file reports with the Law Enforcement Academy after an officer has been convicted of a crime. But according to state code, conduct subject to reporting includes acts "which indicate a lack of good moral character" and dishonesty.
"It's an honorable profession, and I want to see that it stays that way," Ortiz said.
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