New Mexico Joins National, Bipartisan Effort to Empower Americans to #TakeCTRL of Their Privacy
 
ALBUQUERQUE, NM — Today, Senator Peter Wirth (D – Santa Fe) and Representative Jim Dines (R - Albuquerque) asked their legislative colleagues in New Mexico to focus on the issue of personal data privacy and to support the New Mexico Electronic Communications Privacy Act, which would make important advancements in protecting the privacy of all people in New Mexico. The bill simply requires police to get a warrant before accessing New Mexicans’ personal, private electronic data.
 
The announcement in New Mexico is one of 17 taking place simultaneously throughout of the country — from Hawaii to North Carolina, from Alaska to Alabama, and from New Hampshire to New York to New Mexico — with a diverse, bipartisan coalition of elected officials and citizens coming together to tell the nation they care about their digital privacy and are willing to fight for it. The message from these collective actions by the states is clear: where Congress is unwilling or unable to act to protect Americans’ privacy, or takes actions that are insufficient, the states are more than willing to step up and fill the void. Together, these states have introduced a range of new legislation that includes protections for student privacy, location tracking and personal data.

“Today, along with legislators in states across the country we are standing up to affirm our states’ and nation’s commitment to protecting Americans’ privacy,” said Senator Wirth, the bill’s senate sponsor. “The Electronic Communications Privacy Act is a commonsense measure that would make important advancements in protecting the privacy of all New Mexicans. The citizens of this state and nation should feel that their governments are working to protect their privacy, not violate it.”

“This is a commonsense procedure that would require New Mexico law enforcement to obtain proper search warrants and wiretap orders before intruding into the privacy of citizens’ cellphones and other electronic equipment,” said Representative Dines. “The bill provides exceptions in case of emergencies. As shown by Senator Wirth and myself, this is not a Republican or a Democrat bill, but is a bill to protect our New Mexico citizens.”

“Every person should have the power to decide who they want to share personal, private information with. Privacy is not about keeping secrets, it is about exercising control over our own lives,” said ACLU-NM Policy Director Steven Robert Allen. “We’re grateful to Senator Wirth and Representative Dines for their efforts today, which affirms that privacy remains a core value in our state and throughout the United States of America.”

The bipartisan actions by the states, which highlight the strong and diverse nationwide support for legislation that empowers people to take control of their privacy, are mirrored by the results of a recent poll conducted by Anzalone Liszt Grove Research, which found that 90% of Americans believed (73% of them “strongly”) that the next president should make “protecting privacy so we have more control over our personal information” a policy priority.

The 16 states plus the District of Columbia putting forward privacy legislation today have the ability to impact nearly 100 million people, and they collectively account for 169 electoral votes.
 

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The multi-state effort is using the Twitter hashtag #TakeCTRL.

 

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico released a statement in response to the allegations contained in a whistleblower lawsuit filed today by former APD records custodian Reynaldo Chavez against the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The allegations, which are extensive, include that APD routinely violates public records law by withholding, delaying, destroying, and otherwise obfuscating important public records regarding controversial police actions, including lethal officer involved shootings, uses of force, and surveillance of peaceful protesters. The following statement can be attributed to ACLU of New Mexico Executive Director Peter Simonson:
“The allegations put forth in this lawsuit seem to back up what we’ve long suspected: that APD deliberately withholds, destroys, or otherwise obfuscates public records that they fear might make them look bad. If these allegations are true, they represent a serious breach of trust with the people of Albuquerque. APD needs to start following the law by releasing public documents we have a right to access, and give us the fully transparent police department that our community deserves.”
The ACLU of New Mexico currently has a pending lawsuit against APD for illegally withholding public records, including footage of an officer involved shooting, from local citizen journalist collective BurqueMedia. Reynaldo Chavez is named in the ACLU’s lawsuit as records custodian at the time.

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ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico filed a lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) for failing to release lapel-cam footage of a police shooting requested pursuant to the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA). On January 15, 2015, the ACLU’s client, independent citizen journalist outlet BurqueMedia.com, requested all lapel camera footage taken by officers pertaining to an incident that occurred two days earlier in which APD officers shot and killed John O’Keefe near San Mateo and Constitution. Despite the fact that the footage by BurqueMedia.com constitutes public records, APD refused to release video taken during the incident.

“To ensure public trust in law enforcement, citizens and journalists must have access to information about how police use force in the community,” said ACLU-NM Legal Director Alexandra Freedman Smith “APD must rise to this basic standard of openness and transparency, follow the law, and provide this information to the people they serve.”
In its rejection letter to BurqueMedia, APD’s former records custodian, Reynaldo Chavez, cited the “law enforcement exception,” a provision of IPRA that allows police departments to withhold information that is involved in an active criminal investigation so as not to compromise that investigation. However, in its suit, the ACLU alleges that, given the circumstances, the video footage from the lapel cameras worn by police officers when they shot and killed O’Keefe does not fall under any exemption to IPRA. Chavez was placed on administrative leave earlier this year, and has since stated his intention to file a whistleblower lawsuit against APD claiming that he was instructed to cover up records or provide incomplete records requests to those who asked for them.

In recent months, APD has lost or settled a spate of lawsuits stemming from their refusal to release public records that were requested under IPRA. In just the past few months:

• APD paid TV news station KRQE $45,000 for failing to provide lapel cam videos.
• ABQ Free Press won a lawsuit against APD for withholding public information regarding their weapons arsenal.
• A judge ordered that APD release footage and information pertaining to a skate park shooting that resulted in the death of 17 year old Jaquis Lewis.

“Citizens and journalists shouldn’t have to resort to filing a lawsuit every time they want a public record from APD,” said Andy Christophersen, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit. “APD should stop wasting taxpayer money defending against these lawsuits, follow the law, and give people access to public records. “

 

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