Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Sheriff Compliance Dwi topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Sheriff’s office to create compliance officer; SORB members raise concerns about DWI-related misconduct and public reporting
Summary
The Bernalillo County sheriff informed the board that a compliance officer position has been approved to review officer court appearances and policy compliance. Board members discussed a separate, publicized DWI case and debated whether SORB should publicize itself as a place for complaints or otherwise investigate.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff has received approval to create a compliance officer position, the sheriff asked board staff to report. The officer will review deputies’ court appearances, internal affairs (IAs), and compliance with sheriff’s office policies, and the sheriff asked for input from regional members to sit on the hiring panel.
Board member Daniel (staff) relayed the sheriff’s message, saying the compliance officer “is going to be responsible for reviewing officers, going to court, seeing what the track record is ... and reviewing trends,” and that the position will be under the sheriff’s office.
Separately, members discussed a high-profile DWI matter involving local law enforcement that has drawn public attention. Judge Jewell labeled the issue the “DWI scandal” and said the board should track developments and consider ways to be “a repository” for the public to register concerns, including possibly providing an avenue for anonymous reports. Some members urged caution about overstepping legal or statutory boundaries: one member said SORB is not qualified to oversee individual disciplinary decisions and warned that intrusive review of personnel actions could damage relationships with the sheriff’s office.
Nut graf: The sheriff’s creation of a compliance officer addresses internal monitoring topics the board has discussed; SORB members expressed differing views about whether the board should actively solicit or receive public complaints about alleged misconduct tied to DWI cases.
Ending: The board agreed to monitor the compliance officer hiring and to consider how to publicize SORB as a potential venue for concerns; no formal motion to change procedures was adopted at this meeting.
