News & Commentary

###

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.

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—The following statement can be attributed to ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson:

LAS CRUCES, NM—Today, Commissioner Kerlikowske announced additional phases to further study the use of body-worn and other camera technologies at U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The announcement follows the conclusion of a feasibility study, which tested body-worn cameras in both training and operational environments for all CBP component agencies and included field-testing by the El Paso Sector of the U.S. Border Patrol.

Flashbang grenade injures and traumatizes children in Anthony, NM during FBI’s low level drug raid

The Mobile Justice App is coming to New Mexico Friday, November 13!Videos of police encounters are changing per

ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico denounced the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) heavy-handed attempt to force national identity cards on New Mexicans in the form of REAL ID, an extremely unpopular and unfunded mandate tacked onto a “must-pass” Tsunami relief bill and passed by Congress with no debate in 2005. The REAL ID Act of 2005 aims to turn state drivers licenses into a national identity card and impose numerous new burdens on citizens and state governments, all while doing little to protect against terrorism. On October 28, 2015, the DHS announced that it had denied New Mexico’s request for an implementation extension, potentially barring New Mexicans from using state drivers licenses to board aircraft or enter federal buildings in the future.

The

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released stats on use-of-force incidents for fiscal year 2015, claiming a reduction in incidents, yet falling short of providing stats on all officer-civilian interactions involving force.  Most conspicuously, CBP defines force narrowly to exclude incidents that are captured by the Department of Justice’s standards. Beyond CBP’s three, chosen categories—a physical restraint, the use of an alternative device or the application of lethal force—the stats fail to provide all incidents of use of force.