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Public comments spotlight ethics complaint and sharp exchanges over policing and council conduct
Summary
Multiple residents and the police chief used the public-comment period to dispute an ethics allegation involving Councilor Bencomo, with one resident reporting an ethics complaint dismissed by an outside investigator and the police chief denouncing council criticism; speakers on both sides called for accountability.
A contentious series of public comments at the July 21 Las Cruces City Council meeting focused on an ethics complaint and competing public perspectives about the police department and council conduct.
What happened: Juan Garcia told the council he had filed an ethics complaint after Mayor Pro Tem Bencomo accused resident Tim Jenkins of posting council members’ addresses online at a May 19 meeting. Garcia said the outside investigator who reviewed his notarized complaint concluded there was “nothing to see” and found no violation of the municipal code of ethics. He characterized the investigator’s review and the city’s response as a lack of transparency intended to protect an elected official.
Chief of Police Tim Jenkins and other speakers…
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