Senator Richard Martinez's SWAT transparency bill will be considered in the New Mexico Senate Public Affairs Committee on the afternoon of Tuesday, March 3. Call and write your legislators today and let them know you support SB 567, the bill to increase transparency for SWAT teams in New Mexico.
Senate Public Affairs Committee Members:
Sen. Gerald Ortiz y Pino - (505) 986-4482Sen. Bill O'Neill - (505) 986-4260Sen. Jacob Candelaria - (505) 986-4391Sen. Ron Griggs - (505) 986-4276Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto - (505) 986-4270Sen. Gay Kernan - (505) 986-4274Sen. Mimi Stewart - (505) 986-4856Sen. Craig Brandt - (505) 986-4267
In recent decades, SWAT teams have come to be increasingly overused for such activities as searching for drugs or serving low-risk warrants. In the process, innocent people are often killed and terrorized, and their property is damaged or destroyed. We know from the Department of Justice investigation of APD that the City of Albuquerque has a problem with misuse and overuse of SWAT teams. But this problem is not just confined to Albuquerque.
That's why APD Forward is advocating for a statewide law that would require every law enforcement agency in New Mexico that has a SWAT team to file an annual report on how they utilize and deploy these heavily-armed, highly-militarized units.
We are always more safe when our law enforcement agencies operate with transparency, accountability, and professionalism. If you agree that we need to shed more light on how SWAT teams are used in New Mexico, please
call and write the above senators today to ask them to VOTE FOR SB 567.
LEARN MORE ABOUT WHAT THE SWAT TRANSPARENCY BILL DOES >>
HB 567l would require every law enforcement agency in New Mexico that has a SWAT team to file an annual report that includes the following information:
- the purpose of each deployment, including whether or not the situation for which the team was deployed presented an imminent threat to the lives or safety of civilians or law enforcement officers;
- whether the determination that the situation for which the team was deployed was ultimately upheld;
- the location of each team deployment;
- the number of arrests made as a result of each team deployment;
- whether a forcible entry was required in the course of the team deployment;
- whether a weapon of any type was discharged by a member of the team or any other law enforcement officer at the scene of the deployment;
- whether a person or domestic animal was injured or killed in the course of a team deployment;
- the type of tactical equipment deployed in the course of a team deployment;
- the race, sex and age of each individual encountered in the course of a team deployment, whether as a suspect or bystander; and
- a list of any controlled substances, weapons, contraband or evidence of crime that is found on the premises of the team deployment or on any individuals involved in the team deployment.
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