Albuquerque Journal
ALBUQUERQUE — Reporter Kim Holland and KRQE News are asking a court to force the city of Albuquerque to produce lapel videos of arrests on May 20 and May 31 during which officers allegedly used a Taser electric shock on a suspect.
Under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act, such videos are public records and are routinely produced, according to documents filed Friday in Second Judicial District Court in Albuquerque.
The lawsuit says Deputy Police Chief Allen Banks denied Holland’s July 10 request while she was investigating information that there may have been misconduct by law enforcement.
Banks provided a formal denial only after the station’s attorney, Marty Equivel, prodded the city to turn over the videos “after a lengthy and inexplicable delay,” according to the filing.
Albuquerque Police Department spokesman T.J. Wilham told Holland that her request “sparked an internal affairs investigation” of officer conduct, the document says.
“It is likely that the information being sought is a source of embarrassment for (APD) since an official with the city attorney’s office is now stating that an unnamed entity is considering criminal charges against the officers that did the tasing,” it says.
Copyright 2012 Albuquerque Journal