[ACLU-NM] Federal Judge Finds Hobbs Police Violated Legal Agreement Stemming from ACLU Lawsuit

[Kimberly Lavender]

~ ACLU-NM NEWS RELEASE ~



For Immediate Release

June 18, 2004



Contact:        Peter Simonson, ACLU-NM Executive Director, 266-4622

                        Richard Rosenstock, ACLU-NM Volunteer Attorney,
988-5324



Federal Judge Finds Hobbs Police Violated Legal Agreement
Stemming from ACLU Lawsuit


Santa Fe—On Tuesday, Federal Court Judge Martha Vazquez found the Hobbs
Police Department to be in “substantial non-compliance” with a settlement
agreement stemming from a class-action civil rights lawsuit that volunteer
attorneys of the ACLU of New Mexico brought on behalf of African American
residents of Hobbs.  The agreement aims to address a pervasive pattern of
excessive use of force, unwarranted searches and seizures, and other
unconstitutional practices that were alleged by the Plaintiffs in a 1999
lawsuit, Johnson, et al v. City of Hobbs, et. al.  In addition to finding
over twenty violations of the agreement, Judge Vazquez criticized comments
in the City’s legal brief that, she felt, “raise questions regarding
Defendant’s understanding of, and commitment to protecting, the
Constitutional rights of the citizens of Hobbs.”



“The judge’s decision is a total condemnation of the police department’s
failure to address the very serious and well-substantiated civil rights
matters raised in the Johnson lawsuit,” said Peter Simonson, Executive
Director for the ACLU.  “Her comments echo what we have felt all along: that
the police in Hobbs neither intend to take civil rights complaints
seriously, nor even fully appreciate the Constitutional limits on their
power.  The fact that the police department still doesn’t ‘get it’ after
five years of civil litigation should be very worrisome to the people of
Hobbs.”



Among the violations of the agreement, Judge Vazquez cited the Police
Department’s failure to:



-         investigate evidence that showed a disparate racial impact of
Hobbs policing activities;



-         require officers and detectives to file written reports accounting
for the use of force, warrantless searches and seizures, and detentions that
were made without reasonable suspicion;



-         refer cases of apparent police abuse to the Internal Affairs unit;



-         review citizen complaints and take remedial action for officers
who receive three or more complaints over any three-year period.  The judge
named six officers who, during the fourteen-month period between July 2001
and September 2002, accounted for over 60 citizen complaints.  None of them
received counseling, retraining, or even were required to consult with
superior officers.



Richard Rosenstock, volunteer attorney for the ACLU, said, “We went to great
lengths to comb through the data and pick out the officers who were the
greatest offenders.  Not all of the officers are to blame for the problems
in the Department.  In fact, if you really want to assign blame, look to the
Hobbs city councilors.  They have simply refused to deal with the problems.



“The Department has a new police chief and a new opportunity to fix things.
Hopefully the city council will wake up and support the chief in making the
needed changes.  Without their backing, he may have a tough time overcoming
the factions within the Department that are resistant to change.”



Judge Vazquez extended the term of the stipulated agreement for one year and
ordered the police department to provide files on citizen complaints to ACLU
attorneys.  She stated that, because the agreement was not a judicially
ordered consent decree, her authority did not extend to sanctioning the
police department for its failure to comply or granting any of modifications
to the original agreement.  Still, ACLU attorneys were clearly happy with
the outcome.



“Interest in justice demanded relief, and the court responded to the call,”
Rosenstock said.  “The ACLU will continue to closely monitor the department’
s progress.  If improvements aren’t made, the ACLU is prepared to take
whatever steps are necessary to make sure that people’s rights are
ultimately protected.”



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