Wednesday, September 3, 2008

Deputy appealing decision suspending certification

Clara Garcia News-Bulletin Staff Writer; cgarcia@news-bulletin.com

A sheriff's deputy whose law enforcement certification has been suspended for allegations pertaining to his work while with the state police is appealing the decision and asking a judge for a stay while the case is under review.

The New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board suspended Exevius Seals' law enforcement certification for 180 days (six months) in June on grounds of lacking "good moral character, which constitute dishonesty or fraud, and which adversely affects an officer's ability to exercise his or her duties as a certified law enforcement agency."

Seals, who was terminated in January 2007after working for the state police for almost six years, was hired by the Valencia County Sheriff's Department in March of the same year. He alleges that his termination, and the subsequent suspension of his certification, is in retaliation for a number of complaints of discrimination that he filed against several of his supervisors within the state police.

"I don't feel I did anything to warrant termination," Seals said in a recent interview. "I was a very good officer and very good at what I did. I think when (the state police) fired me, they thought I was going to be out of work for a while and I felt it was done.

"To me, it felt like 'let's kick dirt in his face and let's run him out of law enforcement and out of the state completely,'" Seals said of his certification being suspended.

Peter Olson, public information officer for the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, said the Law Enforcement Academy Board suspended Seals' certification based on allegations of untruthfulness while he was with the department. Olson said the alleged incidents occurred while Seals was stationed in Gallup and in Los Lunas.

"This is one of the major functions of the board — to hold people accountable for their deeds and actions," Olson said of the board. "There are rules of being a law enforcement officer."

According to the board's order, there were several allegations made against Seals that led to his suspension, including failing to timely submit evidence of a videotape pertaining to a state police officer-involved crash investigation that occurred in August 2004. The board also alleged that Seals falsified his daily report in November 2005 by claiming that he took documents to court and the district attorney's office when both offices were closed for a holiday.

The order also alleges that Seals failed to timely submit appropriate reports and to properly investigate an allegation regarding a criminal sexual penetration of a minor case. He also allegedly failed to "adequately account for his whereabouts" in June 2007 when a citizen complained that he passed a school bus in a double-yellow zone while improperly using emergency equipment to get ahead of traffic.

"...When confronted by supervising officer, (Seals) took no responsibility and would change his initial story and blame others, even on minor issues of apparent misgivings or mistakes," the order alleged.

Seals says the allegations made by state police regarding his conduct, as an officer, was in retaliation for several complaints he had filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He says that he felt his superiors were targeting him because of his race. Seals is an African-American.

Seals admits that he failed to report on his daily log that he took the documents to court and the district attorney's office on the holiday, but said he wasn't aware that the courts were closed on the day after Thanksgiving. In regard to the case involving the investigation of criminal sexual penetration, Seals said that the alleged victim was not cooperative and that his supervisor failed to approve the report in a timely manner.

He also said the allegation of passing the school bus never occurred.

"Everything I did was scrutinized to ridiculous points," Seals said of his supervisors. "They were specifically harsher on me.

"They (state police) did four (internal affairs) complaints on me within one year — very frivolous complaints. What they were basically trying to do was establish a paper trail."

Seals alleges that because he would speak up for himself and wouldn't admit to wrongdoing when he wasn't wrong, he wasn't a very popular officer among the state police administration. He says he told his supervisors that he would take responsibility for what he did, but nothing more.

"But that seems what they wanted me to do — take responsibility for something that I didn't do," Seals said. "All I want is a fair and impartial opportunity that anyone else would be demanding."

Seals also says the suspension of his certification is much more than other officer received who had been accused of committing crimes such as drinking while driving. He also said because of the state police allegations, he was unable to be hired onto other police departments in and out of state.

Because Seals' certification has been suspended, Sheriff Rene Rivera said he has been forced to reassign Seals from patrol to court security duty. Rivera said he was also forced to take Seals' badge and gun until the suspension is complete.

"He cannot act as a law enforcement officer," Rivera said. "They're (the board) saying in order for him (Seals) to stay in court security, they want him to be in plain clothes with no identifiers."

Rivera said while he can't comment on the specifics of the case, he is willing to take Seals back as an officer once the suspension has been lifted. With the exception of the supervisor, none of the court security personnel are certified law enforcement officers but are all in uniform.

"I get a sense of gratification from helping people," Seals said of being a police officer. "I like being able to be relied upon, and I enjoy my work. I was brought up to treat people the way I wanted to be treated, and I try to treat everyone with dignity and respect."

A hearing on Seals' appeal and motion for a stay is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 9, in front of District Court Judge John Pope.

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