County attorney briefs commissioners on writ of mandamus, board directs staff to explore external audit of sheriff’s office

Acting County Attorney Carrie Neal told the Doña Ana County Board of County Commissioners on Feb. 25 that a petition for a writ of mandamus had been filed against Sheriff Kim Stewart and served on the sheriff’s office on Feb. 14, seeking a court order to commission officers graduating from the county’s academy.

Neal said the petition arises from a dispute over the sheriff’s stated intent not to commission some officers after stating she could not decommission others under NMSA 1978, Section 4‑41‑5, which authorizes sheriffs to appoint (commission) deputies and limits decommissioning when a county merit system applies. “When the sheriff was notified of this, she sent multiple emails stating that if she can’t decommission the officers, she will not commission them,” Neal said. The petition was filed Feb. 13 and the signed writ was entered Feb. 14, according to Neal.

The county attorney put the matter in broader context, listing past litigation involving the sheriff’s office. She…