NMIPRA update

APS Custodian of Public Records has responded to the sum of the requests that I have made for public records.

He continues to maintain that public records of complaints made against APS Police Chief Gil Lovato, the results of the investigations of those complaints, and the determinations and dissemination of the complaints are exempt from the NMIPA. He indicated that he had spoken with legal counsel (Modral?) and was prepared to defend his decision that all of the public records are exempt because they include “letters or memorandums which are matters of opinion”.

The argument is nonsense. Yet, Maes/Modral can make a lot of money, off taxpayers, by defending this position in court. In fact, they will.

With regard to my request for public records of investigations of the APS Police Department, other than the APS OEOS, including ongoing investigations;
Chavez responded,

“With regard to your request for information about “ongoing” investigations by other entities other than the APS Equal Opportunity Services Office, I am not aware of any other “ongoing” investigations relating to Mr. Lovato.”

The truth is that there is an APS internal audit; whose product is a public record. There is an independent investigation whose product is public record.

I will remind Rigo Chavez of these. Taxpayers will pay the lawyers at Modral to advise Chavez to respond by saying.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about those.”

And then they will be denied for yet another reason; Maes/Modral making money every step of the way.

They really won’t surrender the public record

“…until ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction and only after exhausting every possible appeal”; and at considerable taxpayer expense.

They will not surrender at least, any thing that will hurt them. Chavez says he will surrender public records of public record requests related to Gil Lovato.

In response to a request for public records of litigation against requests for records; Chavez replied, “I know of no APS funds that have been used to litigate for public records in the five years that I have been custodian of Records for the APS.”

I will remind Chavez of my lawsuit against APS. Taxpayers will pay Modral to tell Chavez to say,

“oh yeah, I forgot about that too.”

And then the request for the public records of APS/Modral trying to defeat the NMIPA through the legal system, will be denied for yet another reason; Maes/Modral making money every step of the way.

To this day; APS/Maes/Modral absolutely refuse to surrender an honest accounting of their relationship.

I asked for any public records of statements by Everitt, et al about their refusal to surrender public records. He offers me her one statement from the news conference about their intention not to renew Lovato’s contract.

I will clarify my request; I will ask for records of their offering of the “"confidentiality under personnel protections" excuse; or any other excuse.

Finally, I asked for a public record of the APS administrators and board members who have attended training on the NMIPRA, by the NMAGO.

The Custodian of Public Records claims to have no public record of even his own training. It cannot be proved that any member of the APS leadership was trained in the law.

Without exception, the leadership of the APS has plausible deniability; they can violate the law by pretending to misunderstand it.

The corruption will be hidden by feigning abject incompetence and ignorance.

Which begs the question;
Why isn't abject incompetence and ignorance, itself
grounds for termination?