Santa Fe Mayor Javier Gonzales has asked the state attorney general for clarification on whether New Mexico’s public records law requires the city to release information concerning internal disciplinary proceedings against police officers, or whether such proceedings should be kept from public view.
In a letter to state Attorney General Hector Balderas, Gonzales says he has “worked hard to cultivate a culture of accountability among city employees — to each other as well as to the public, for whom we all work.”
But while espousing the benefits of greater transparency, Gonzales also outlines the city attorney’s stance that the city cannot release disciplinary records on police officers, in part because the city employees have a constitutionally protected privacy interest that would be harmed by the public release of such records.
The mayor’s letter to Balderas, who oversees compliance with the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act by public agencies across the state, was first reported by The Santa Fe Reporter. Read more…