DAILY LOBO new mexico
friday
April 11, 2014
The Independent Student Voice of UNM since 1895
DOJ report: APD force often excessive Inadequate training, oversight, ineffective policies cited as cause of deaths
by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
After more than a year of investigations, the U.S. Department of Justice has concluded that the Albuquerque Police Department has a history of using excessive force. At a press conference Thursday morning, Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, said the results were a product of a thorough investigation. “The investigation was not an easy one, but through all of these efforts, we are certain to gather the facts… and reach out to our communities,” Samuels said. According to a document distributed at the conference, the DOJ found “reasonable cause to believe that the Albuquerque Police Department engages in a pattern or practice of excessive force in violation of the Fourth Amendment.” The DOJ has identified three particular patterns of excessive force in APD, according to the document. First, APD used deadly force against people who demonstrated only minimal threat. APD also used less lethal force on “people passively resisting,” and officers frequently used force on people with mental illness, according to the document. Samuels attributed APD’s excessive use of force to insufficient oversight, inadequate training and
ineffective policies of the police department. The DOJ began its investigation in November 2012. According to the document, the department used testimonials from community town hall meeting participants, APD and city officials, and expert police consultants within the DOJ. The department also consulted documents, such as shooting files, for the investigation.
Samuels said the DOJ will work closely with the city and APD to begin working on reforms as soon as possible. She said her department would monitor any agreements that result from the process as well as provide expert assistance and a level of accountability. Damon Martinez, New Mexico’s acting U.S. attorney, said he is pleased with the results of the
investigation. He said the DOJ’s release of the reports is a crucial step in reforming APD. “Today marks a critical milestone in our community and for the Albuquerque Police Department,” he said. “Understanding how we arrived here is very important, but just as important is how we move forward. In the coming days and months, we will determine the next generation of what
William Aranda/ @_WilliamAranda / Daily Lobo Jocelyn Samuels, acting assistant attorney general of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division, announced Thursday morning that after more than a year of investigations, the DOJ has concluded that the Albuquerque Police Department engages in excessive police force.
the police would look like in our city.” Families of men shot dead by APD were present at the press conference. Stephen Torres, whose son Christopher was shot dead by APD officers, said he was relieved to see the DOJ seriously address the police department’s use of force. “I’ve been cautiously optimistic for the last several months,” he said. “I was hoping today would come, but I was fearful that it would not go this far. I’m still hopeful that the criminal division would continue pursuing their investigations. I think that is still necessary… A lot of our concerns have been validated as a result of this release today.” In April 2011, APD Detectives CJ Brown and Richard Hilger shot Christopher, who was diagnosed with schizophrenia, in the Torres’s backyard, according to KRQE. The officers said Christopher resisted arrest during the incident, and they claimed that as the three men wrestled, Christopher grabbed Hilger’s gun. Torres’ DNA was found on the gun, but not his fingerprints. Earlier this year, Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg announced she would not press criminal charges against the officers. Renatta Torres, Christopher’s mother, said APD should more strictly enforce accountability measures regarding officers who use excessive force. She said the DOJ’s release of
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Faculty, staff voice concerns Martin wins GPSA election about health plan changes by Chloe Henson
assistant-news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5
by Chloe Henson
assistant-news@dailylobo.com @ChloeHenson5 Staff, faculty and other members voiced to UNM administration their concerns about changes to their health benefit plan during a special faculty meeting Thursday afternoon. The Board of Regents passed changes to the health insurance plan Tuesday. UNM President Robert Frank called the emergency meeting on Thursday to go over changes to employees’ health insurance plan and answer questions from staff, faculty and other involved community members. Some attendees felt that the plan disproportionately affected them. As a single parent with a child, Kimberly Gauderman, a faculty member from the history department, said these changes would cause her deductible to triple. “Why were people like me not considered in your computations?” she said. The changes will cause insurance deductibles for individual employees to triple from $200 to $600, according to a document shown at the meeting. Deductibles will also triple from $400 to $1,200 for employees with a spouse, and employees with a family will see it double from $600 to $1,200. Maximums for out-of-pocket pay for individuals will also increase from $1,750 to $2,250, according to the document. Maximums will also increase for couples from $3,500 to $4,500. They will decrease for families from $4,750 to $4,500.
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Frank said he sympathized with those who felt singled out by the changes, but the University couldn’t create a plan that was equitable for everyone. “Plans are constructed in a general industry standard, and this is an industry standard,” he said. “This is the best that we can do with the plan, they’re not equal by all standards to all people… I wish we can make it perfect for everybody, but I can’t do that for you.” The changes also include a $5 increase in co-pay, excluding emergency and urgent care. They will also allow insurance to cover autism. John Hatz, a consultant with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc., said the changes in health insurance could also help mitigate costs that will arise from an excise tax enforced by the Affordable Care Act in 2018. “The University will be responsible for paying a 40 percent tax on benefits that cost an employee over $10,200,” he said. “So, making those changes will help reduce those costs.” On Tuesday, the Board of Regents also voted for a 3 percent increase in compensation for faculty and a 2.5 percent increase for staff. The board initially passed a 3 percent increase for faculty and a 2 percent increase for staff in March. Frank said the increase in compensation had been a priority. He said the new plan would save employees money in premiums. “If we hadn’t done anything, we think our premiums would have increased about 7 percent,” he said. “But because we’ve done this, I think our premiums are going to increase about 3 percent.”
President-elect Texanna Martin will succeed Priscila Poliana as the next president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association. Martin, who is pursuing a master’s degree in public administration, won the position Thursday evening with 198 out of the 389 votes cast for president. There were 417 total ballots that were cast, or about 5.2 percent of the graduate student population, according to a document with the results. Glenda Lewis, her opponent, received 118 votes. Sixty-three voters abstained, and 10 wrote into the ballot. Martin said she talked to organizations across campus to garner votes during her campaign, including students from the law school, the Health and Sciences Center and the Athletics Department. She said the first thing she will do as president is to continue her outreach efforts. “My first action is going to be getting out and working with everybody and being very active with student organizations and learning a lot more now,” she said. Valentine Fisher, who is working on his master’s degree in community and regional planning and public administration and campaign manager for Martin, said he felt confident in the presidentelect’s abilities. “I think that the skills that she’ll bring to the office of GPSA are going to be incredible,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to support her. She could have done this without me, but I was happy to just be there and support her throughout the process.” During her campaign, one of Martin’s platforms was promoting equity and inclusion across campus. She said she has already started working on this goal by starting SafeZone
Mourning the losses
Sliding halfway
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William Aranda/@_WilliamAranda / Daily Lobo Texanna Martin, center, celebrates her victory in the race for the Graduate and Professional Student Association’s presidency with her son Spencer, left, and campaign manager Valentine Fisher at the GPSA office in the Student Union Building on Thursday night. Martin, who garnered 198 votes, snagged the position from candidate Glenda Lewis, who got 118 votes. Martin will replace current GPSA President Priscila Poliana. training and developing a map to show locations SafeZone on campus. “We’re trying to get that done so we can make sure that GPSA is on that map, so everybody knows if you need a SafeZone when you can come here,” she said. “That’s one of the things that I’ve been really working on as a project assistant.” The SafeZone program was created to develop, enhance and maintain environments in schools and other social settings that are supportive to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and Questioning individuals, as well as straight identified people who care about diversity, equality and inclusion, according to the Gay Alliance. Lewis was not present at the time of the announcements, but Martin said she wanted to thank her for the race. “I really would like to work with her in this
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