Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE — A State Police patrolman is the subject of an internal affairs investigation after images of a crime scene showing the body of a man killed in an officer-involved shooting were leaked to the public.
New Mexico State Police Chief Robert Schilling said the patrolman allegedly used his personal cellphone to take photos of Samuel Pauly, 34, who was shot to death by State Police at his Glorieta home last October, and then shared the pictures with others.
Dan Cron, attorney for Pauly’s family, said the family’s reaction to the cellphone photos is “outrage.”
“This is hard to believe that the state’s police agency would have someone in a supervisory capacity who would be that callous and insensitive to the family,” Cron said.
He added that “the fact that there is evidence floating around that’s not part of the evidence held by the State Police is not only completely unprofessional but it also compromises the integrity of the case.”
Dan Pauly, father of Samuel Pauly, told KOAT that the photos show “total disrespect.”
“Why would they do that?” he asked.
Schilling said the senior patrolman who took the pictures was not one of the officers who was present during the shooting but was called in to help secure the scene.
The shooting occurred after Samuel Pauly’s brother was involved in what’s been described as a road rage incident on Interstate 25 late at night. State Police tracked the license number of the truck that the brother, also named Daniel Pauly, was driving to their Glorieta residence.
Cron has said the brothers only saw flashlights outside and mistook police for intruders or possibly someone connected to the incident on the interstate.
Samuel Pauly was shot by officers after shots were fired from inside the Pauly home. Cron says the shots fired by Daniel were warning blasts from the back door to run off whomever was outside and not at the officers.
The case has not yet been heard by a grand jury, which will decide whether charges should be brought against the officers. Two officers were placed on administrative leave in wake of the shooting. Daniel Pauly faces charges in the case.
Schilling said the officer who took the cellphone photos was being investigated for not following the department’s evidence policy and criminal investigation policy. He said it’s unclear how many people may have received an image from the officer’s phone.
While Schilling declined to name the officer, he said the subject was a senior patrolman, meaning he’s been on the force for at least five years.
The chief said State Police and the District Attorney’s Office have been aware of the photos allegedly taken by the patrolman for several weeks and he was “deeply troubled” that they were circulated.
“We have a very stringent policy about how you handle evidence and how to document it and log it into evidence. This will be scrutinized very heavily,” he said.
District Attorney Angela “Spence” Pacheco said State Police officials “immediately” made her office aware of a photo taken with an officer’s cellphone as soon as they knew about it. She said that from her perspective, taking the photo was not a criminal matter for her office to prosecute.
“It was totally inappropriate and lacking in judgment and taste on the officer’s part,” Pacheco said.
Photos not typical
Schilling, who confirmed that an image aired by Albuquerque television station KRQE and posted on its website appears to be that of the crime scene, said it was not typical for a patrolman to take pictures at a crime scene, especially one of this nature.
“A major incident like this, an officer-involved shooting where someone died, we rely solely on our crime scene investigative team,” he said.
Schilling said State Police were in the process of implementing a clear and precise policy on the use of social media.
“We have to be realistic about the time we live in and the use of electronic communication,” he said. “Once you hit send, you no longer have control over it.”
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal