By Rene Romo
Albuquerque Journal
LAS CRUCES, N.M. — City officials have refused to release any audio or video recordings made by police when officers shot and killed 37-year-old Robert Montes on the night of Dec. 17.
The Journal and other news media have filed requests under the state Inspection of Public Records Act for copies of any video recorded by officers or in-car cameras of the fatal shooting.
In a Jan. 12 letter denying the Journal’s request, City Clerk Esther Martinez wrote that any audio or video recordings are considered “confidential law enforcement records” exempt from disclosure under state law. Martinez has not responded to a written request to clarify why such recordings would be confidential, and a city attorney said Tuesday that no additional explanation would be provided.
Police officials in Albuquerque have provided video of critical incidents to the Journal in the past - sometimes within 24 hours of the incident.
Sarah Welsh, executive director of the Foundation for Open Government, said police videos from in-car cameras are considered part of an incident report that is public record under state law. Welsh added that because the shooting occurred on a city street, any video recorded “a public interaction on a public street. There’s no expectation of privacy there.”
Police also have refused to release the names of the officers involved but said they were initially placed on leave after the shooting and have since returned to work.
The woman in whose car Montes was a passenger the night of the shooting has said police shot Montes as he fled the scene with his hands bound behind his back. The woman, Jessica Murphy Anto, has also said that Montes did not shoot at police, said her attorney Jose Coronado.
Police have said Montes shot first and that officers responded with deadly fire.
A second witness, whom Coronado would not identify, has corroborated Anto’s version of events, the attorney said.
District Attorney Amy Orlando, who will make a finding on whether officers’ use of deadly force was justified, said Anto’s claim differs from a version she initially provided police. In the first version, Orlando said, Anto claimed she did not see the shooting as she sat in the back of a police unit.
The investigation is being conducted by a multi-agency law enforcement task force that includes Las Cruces police.
Among other things, investigators are awaiting the results of ballistics tests on a bullet fragment police believe came from a revolver that Montes allegedly fired. Orlando said police recovered a spent casing in Montes’ handgun.
The autopsy report on Montes’ death has been sealed by court order at the request of the DA’s Office.
A warrant was issued Dec. 29 for Anto’s arrest for possession of methamphetamine. Police say a detective found four grams of meth in Anto’s purse following a search of her car after the shooting.
According to a police affidavit filed to obtain Anto’s arrest warrant, an officer discovered an electronic scale on Montes during a pat-down after Montes exited Anto’s Chevy Malibu the night of Dec. 17. As the officer’s “attention was briefly diverted, Montes ran back to the vehicle and armed himself with a revolver, which led to a shooting,” the affidavit states.
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal