KRQE.com
SANTA FE, N.M. — The Santa Fe police officer who was fired for beating up a handcuffed teen was hired onto the Cuba Police Department, the Cuba police chief confirmed Tuesday.
“He’s been a great asset to the community,” said Chief Jason Griego. “As of today I have yet to receive any complaints on Officer Smoker.”
The attack, which is captured on a Santa Fe police department camera, cost Officer David Smoker his job there. The recording of the attack, which occurred in November 2007, has just now surfaced. Griego said he hired Smoker after he looked into the incident and saw the video in February 2009. The chief told News 13 that his decision to hire Smoker was based on his entire career and not the video.
"(He) had a stellar career prior to this incident, had never had use of force incidents and I was not going to judge an individual off of 15 seconds of his entire life,” Griego said.
Read full story: Fired N.M. officer quickly lands another job