DAILY LOBO new mexico
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thursday April 24, 2014
APD unable to provide video of Hawkes shooting by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
William Aranda / Daily Lobo Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden prepares to speak to reporters concerning the most recent police shooting, at the start of a press conference at Albuquerque Police Department Headquarters on Wednesday morning. APD officer Jeremy Dear shot and killed 19-year-old Mary Hawkes, a suspected truck thief, early Monday morning during a foot pursuit after she allegedly pulled a gun on the officer.
The Albuquerque Police Department is still unable to produce video of the officer-involved fatal shooting of Mary Hawkes earlier this week. At a press conference Wednesday morning, APD Chief Gorden Eden said the city and state police, the District Attorney’s Office and an independent review officer are conducting an active investigation on Hawkes’ shooting. On Monday, APD officer Jeremy Dear shot and killed Hawkes, 19, at the intersection of Zuni and Wyoming. Eden said that although Dear wore an on-body camera during the encounter, police were unable to recover video from the device. Eden said he could not confirm whether Dear turned off his camera before the shooting or whether the device malfunctioned. “It’s important for us to let the investigation run its course,” Eden said. “At any officer-involved shooting, on-scene supervisors and on-scene personnel provide preliminary
information. At this time, we have no video of the shooting as it has not been recovered from Officer Dear’s on-body camera system. We have sent the system to the manufacturer for technical and forensic analysis.” APD policy requires officers to turn on an on-body camera during every encounter they have with people, Eden said. Not doing so can result in penalties ranging from a letter of reprimand to suspension. Eden said Dear shot Hawkes after police spotted her driving a stolen Ford pickup truck at about 3 a.m. that day. Police later located the car abandoned and found Hawkes’ identification inside. They located Hawkes at a trailer park southwest of Zuni Road and Wyoming Boulevard. Eden said police attempted to talk to Hawkes, but she fled from the park and, as she was being chased, she allegedly pointed a gun at Dear, Eden said. Dear allegedly shot Hawkes in retaliation, and the woman died at the scene. Police found a Davis Industries 32-caliber semi-automatic handgun near Hawkes’ body, Eden said. Eden
see APD
Press PAGE 3
Students demand involvement Friends recall Hawkes as ‘gentle’ By Zachary Pavlik
news@dailylobo.com @zachpavlik
On Wednesday, UNM students marched into the offices of both the Associated Students of the University of New Mexico and UNM President Robert Frank to demand transparency, accountability and more student involvement. Manuel Lopez, one of the co-founders of the Our UNM movement, said the movement began a few weeks ago in order to protest recent decisions which have been made both by the University’s administration as well as ASUNM without the input of the student population. “UNM has been doing a lot of things that we believe are shady and not inclusive of the student population when it comes to making decisions,” Lopez said.“I think this last year was definitely the straw that broke the camel’s back because of the different decisions that were made by administration without listening to ASUNM, and then the decisions made by ASUNM without listening to students.” More than 50 students gathered in front of the UNM Bookstore carrying posters and shouting for reform. From the bookstore, the group Our UNM marched to the ASUNM office and handed a letter detailing their demands to ASUNM Attorney General Matthew Fleischer, who said that he would make sure it got to ASUNM President Isaac Romero. Lopez said the three main demands of the movement were
Inside the
Daily Lobo volume 118
issue 141
by Ardee Napolitano news@dailylobo.com @ArdeeTheJourno
William Aranda/ Daily Lobo UNM graduate student Manuel Lopez marches with at least 100 other UNM students around campus on Monday afternoon while chanting against tuition increases. The march started in front of the UNM Bookstore and continued into Scholes Hall, where protesters handed over a list of demands. communication with students, accountability for past actions and involvement of the student body. From the Student Union Building, the demonstration continued to Scholes Hall, where the group entered the Office of President Frank and handed over a second copy of the letter to Chief of Staff Amy Wohlert. Wohlert said she would see that the letter reached President Frank, and they would be sure to follow up. All concerns of the University’s student body are heard and taken seriously, Wohlert said. Priscila Poliana, the president of the Graduate and Professional Student Association at the University, said one of these instances of executive decision making occurred recently when
President Frank went back on his word that he would not make any changes to the Student Fee Review Board without GPSA and ASUNM input. The SFRB annually evaluates funding requests and recommends how to distribute student fees to the UNM Board of Regents. Poliana said the President agreed with student leaders that changes would not be made for some time. “I’m here today because President Frank brokered a deal with student leaders, shook hands on it, and he just went back on this deal,” Poliana said. “They have been talking for some time about making changes to the Student Fee Review Board. The deal was that we needed more time to
see ProtestPAGE 2
Three weeks ago, Celestino Crow advised Mary Hawkes not to trust the Albuquerque Police Department. Little did he know that that would be his final encounter with Hawkes. On Monday, Hawkes, 19, was shot dead by APD officer Jeremy Dear after police identified her as a suspect in a motor vehicle theft incident. According to preliminary police investigation, Hawkes allegedly pointed a gun at Dear after a short foot chase near the intersection of Zuni and Wyoming. But Crow, who attended an APD protest in front of the police headquarters Monday morning, said he does not trust the police’s claims, and he believes the police released a “fabricated story.” He said there was no way that Hawkes could have posed a threat to police. “In my mind, this is what I see: she was sleeping in a truck because she was afraid to be violated,” he said. “She was a very young, beautiful woman. The police officers were called to the scene to recover the vehicle… She saw them in the area and ran. She ran because she was afraid.” According to The Albuquerque Journal, Hawkes lived in transitional housing in the International District, but she didn’t feel comfortable sleeping
in these shelters because she’s a woman. Crow had met Hawkes through their personal mentors, he said. Crow dated Hawkes, who he said was bisexual. “She was a very gentle person,” he said. “I didn’t know Mary to have a gun. I knew her to have an adopted dog.” According to the Journal, court records show that Hawkes had faced various criminal charges in the past. In 2011, she was convicted for two years of probation for a battery offense. She was also involved in public drinking and shoplifting charges, which were later dismissed, according to the Journal. But her criminal record doesn’t mean that Hawkes was a bad person, Crow said. “We keep saying criminal records, and that’s used to criminalize people,” he said. “But I’m a criminal — I got a parking ticket.” Crow said police should be more rational and accountable for their actions, especially after the Department of Justice found that APD has used excessive force as reported in the DOJ’s investigation on the department two weeks ago. He said he is optimistic that he will get justice for Hawkes’ killing in the future. “We live in different times after this Department of Justice report,” he said. “I don’t think they’ve got the picture. They can get investigated, and they will be prosecuted.”
TODAY
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