By T.J. Wilham
Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Albuquerque police chief suspended the department’s volunteer police officer program Thursday in the wake of allegations that one of the officers made illegal arrests and was paid overtime for it.
Chief Ray Schultz said he intends to conduct a thorough review of APD’s Reserve Corps before reactivating it. State officials say reserve officers can’t make arrests.
A reserve officer is an unpaid volunteer who assists full-time officers.
The Journal recently discovered that civilian APD radio technician David Young - who is also a reserve officer - was getting paid overtime to arrest prostitutes and “johns.”
Young has arrested 24 people since 2006. He filled out criminal complaints, is listed as the arresting officer on defendants’ booking sheets and has prosecuted the cases in Metropolitan Court.
He also swore under penalty of perjury that he was a police detective.
On Thursday, the state’s Public Defender’s Office said it would ask for 10 convictions to be tossed out. Those cases all involved women Young arrested on prostitution charges. The women were sentenced to jail time, and some spent as many as six months behind bars.
The Public Defender’s Office said it would also ask that an additional five cases pending in Metropolitan Court be dismissed.
APD has 63 reserve officers, 27 of whom are currently on active status. Department officials have acknowledged that they have allowed the reserve officers to make arrests as long as they were in the presence of or under the supervision of certified law enforcement officers and were not getting paid for the work.
But state Law Enforcement Academy officials said reserve officers can only assist certified officers in making arrests when working as volunteers.
Schultz said he would review state law and determine what reserve officers can do before re-establishing the program.
Reserve officers go through an abbreviated academy with APD and are required to volunteer their time eight hours a month.
Re-evaluation
Police officials said they eventually want to re-establish the program.
A proposal sent to the state’s Law Enforcement Academy Board would allow reserves to seek state certification.
“This is a very solid program,” City Public Safety Director Pete Dinelli said. “Once this review is completed, the program will continue.”
The Public Defender’s Office said it’s considering taking civil action against the city for arresting the women who served jail time.
“This is clearly fraud perpetrated against the court,” said attorney Mary Han, who was appointed by the Public Defender’s Office to represent those arrested by Young. “Impersonating a police officer is a serious crime. If you or I would do it, we would be thrown in jail.”
Schultz opened an investigation after learning from the Journal that Young was getting paid overtime while making arrests. Police officials said Thursday the probe could turn into a criminal investigation.
Young still works for the department, but police officials have ordered him to stop accruing overtime and carrying a gun.
Dinelli said Thursday the public defender’s actions are a “red herring.”
“This is a typical defense move,” he said. “The public defender has conveniently overlooked the fact that these people have been convicted of these charges.”
No arrest powers
According to Metropolitan Court records, Young has arrested 24 people since 2006. Most were alleged prostitutes Young busted while pretending to be a john. In those cases, Young filled out the criminal complaint, is listed as the arresting officer on the suspect’s booking sheet and appeared in court for the case.
APD officials have acknowledged that Young was not allowed to get paid for police work. State officials have said reserve officers do not have arrest powers.
Of Young’s 24 arrests, 18 defendants were represented by the Public Defender’s Office.
Eight of the cases were dismissed.
Young’s attorney, John D’Amato, said his client was asked to work as an undercover “john” by his superiors because the division he was assigned to was shorthanded.
Han said Thursday she believes the city was using civilians as police officers to supplement their lack of manpower.
At the time Young was making arrests, Mayor Martin Chávez pledged to grow APD to 1,100 officers. APD failed to meet the mayor’s goal at least twice.
“The mayor has complained he needs more police officers ‘cause he is short-handed,” Han said. “Is this the solution - that he pays overtime to a civilian to be a police officer ... then have him testify and lie under oath? The mayor should be furious that this happened in his city.”
Chávez did not respond to an interview request and referred questions to Dinelli.
“They can make all of the allegations they want, threaten all they want, the mayor is not involved in this,” Dinelli said.
Copyright 2009 Albuquerque Journal