ALBUQUERQUE – A former records keeper has filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department, saying top officials demanded he unlawfully deny public records requests related to high-profile cases, including some stemming from shootings by police.
The lawsuit filed by Reynaldo Chavez, who was dismissed from his job as APD’s records custodian last year, contends he was ordered to deny or stall the release of records related to the March 2014 shooting of James Boyd, a homeless man killed during a stand-off with police. He also said he was ordered to turn down requests for APD video surveillance of protests that erupted after the shooting, which came as the Justice Department concluded an investigation into a pattern of excessive force among Albuquerque police.
The lawsuit, which the city opposes, was filed Monday in New Mexico District Court. It names Chief Gorden Eden, Assistant Chief Robert Huntsman, former assistant city attorney Kathryn Levy and others.
KOB-TV first reported the lawsuit’s filing Thursday evening.
An Albuquerque police spokeswoman deferred comment on the case to city attorney Jessica Hernandez, who said the city takes Chavez’s claims seriously, especially as local officials strive to “improve transparency and responsiveness to public requests.”
“There is always more to the story when the City finds it necessary to fire an employee,” Hernandez said in a written statement. “That is true here, as well.”
Chavez was placed on leave from the department last spring as APD announced it was investigating unprofessional conduct within the unit he supervised. Chavez contends officials were retaliating against him after he warned them their directives were in violation of the state records act.
By law, all members of the public have the right to inspect public records within state and local agencies.
However, Levy allegedly told Chavez that some records simply would not be released and the city would pay fines or the costs of a lawsuit, rather than make documents available to reporters and the public, according to the lawsuit.
In the lawsuit, Chavez said he was dismissed from his job by Eden last year after he objected to officials’ orders to delay or withhold responses to records requests from the media and others without justification. He indicated he never deleted or destroyed records, despite orders for him to do so in certain cases, and resented directives to find “creative” loopholes within the state public records law to deny document requests.
He kept a database of public records requests that a police spokesman later told the news media didn’t exist, he said.
Chavez accused officials of using their positions to conceal police staff misconduct and timing the release of documents to “selected” media outlets from “high-profile” cases for the day before a weekend or holiday to reduce exposure in the news.
Chavez is seeking compensation of attorney’s fees and unspecified damages for alleged breach of contract and emotional distress.
