ALBUQUERQUE – A New Mexico judge has ruled that the city of Albuquerque deliberately refused to follow the state public records law and must pay its former police records custodian.
The Albuquerque Journal reports the judge ruled last week that the city owes Reynaldo Chavez $100 for each day he went without requested documents, which should have been received by June 2015.
Chavez’s attorney Thomas Grover says that amount that could exceed $100,000.
Chavez was fired from the police department in 2015. He has a pending whistleblower lawsuit, claiming he was ordered by officials to withhold requested public records.
Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos says Mayor Keller’s administration is reviewing policies and procedures to ensure that the police department is transparent. He says they are also working to comply with the court order.
