Two Santa Fe officers on desk duty while facing criminal charges in separate domestic incidents

SANTA FE  — Santa Fe Police Department recently placed two of its officers on desk duty after learning that a grand jury indicted one for allegedly battering and choking his wife in November and that the other was charged in a separate domestic incident involving his girlfriend, a fellow officer.

Ben Valdez, deputy chief of police at the department, confirmed the administrative actions against officers Xavier Smith and Donovan Gonzales in an email on Friday and said other disciplinary moves are pending review. 

While the cases are reviewed, he said both officers had been placed on temporary "alternate duty status with no contact with the public. Alternate duty is non-field work conducting administrative tasks."

Valdez provided a copy of the department's disciplinary policy, which suggests that the officers could face termination based upon a "zero tolerance" rule the department employs regarding domestic violence "should a preponderance of evidence show that a violation has occurred."

A grand jury in 13th Judicial District Court returned the indictment Dec. 18 against Smith, a DWI officer, charging him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and battery against a household member.

The indictment accuses Smith of choking his wife at their Rio Rancho home in November. According to a statement of probable cause, Rio Rancho Police responded to the couple's home days after the incident, and Smith's wife told officers her husband climbed on top of her during the altercation and demanded her phone, holding her throat until she agreed to give it to him. 

The probable cause statement further states that Smith's wife showed investigators physical evidence of the alleged abuse on her body, including bruises and cuts.

During a previous domestic violence incident involving the Santa Fe officer, she asserted that Smith had struck her with a shotgun.

The courts ordered the officer to not be allowed to possess weapons as a condition of his release.

According to Santa Fe Police Department policy, "indictment for the commission of any felony shall be prima facie evidence of a violation of this section," which specifically includes "an act of domestic violence or abuse under any state law or county ordinance in which the alleged victim is a household member."

Valdez said that a police commander is currently reviewing and preparing "disciplinary corrective action documents for Officer Smith so the corrective process can occur."

Smith is set to appear for an arraignment on Jan. 12, according to court records.

Officer Gonzales was charged last month with criminal damage to the property of a household member under $1,000 and two counts of criminal damage to property under $1,000.

According to a statement of probable cause, the charges stem from an incident that took place not long after midnight on Dec. 19 at an Airport Road apartment complex, where Gonzales and his girlfriend, a fellow officer, got into an argument.

The girlfriend told Santa Fe County Sheriff's deputies who responded to the residence that there had been no physical altercation between the couple, she said Gonzales had punched holes in the wall and rammed his head into the drywall.

Gonzales' girlfriend told deputies she had also phoned a fellow Santa Fe Police officer to come get Gonzales during the incident. Deputies said the responding officer got into an altercation with Gonzales, who became emotional in the parking lot and threw a phone, denting a vehicle.

Gonzales is set for an arraignment on Jan. 22 in Santa Fe Magistrate Court.

Valdez said investigations and criminal proceedings for criminal cases involving the department's own are conducted by outside agencies. Meanwhile, Santa Fe Police Department's Internal Affairs unit determines whether a violation has occurred that merits further administrative action.

In such cases, referrals, including any disciplinary action taken by the department, are made to the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board, which can suspend or revoke officers licenses after a review.

"Only the LECB has the authority to make a determination to suspend or revoke a law enforcement officer’s certification for a sustained allegation of misconduct or indictment of a felony offense," Valdez said.

John Miller is the Albuquerque Journal’s northern New Mexico correspondent. He can be reached at jmiller@abqjournal.com.