Journalists at the New Mexico Compass, in partnership with KUNM, have gathered as many materials as they could find, and have organized an Indiegogo campaign to raise money to build a searchable, free-to-the-public database on their website.
“This project is a big one and will be unfolding for quite some time,” said Marisa Demarco, editor-in-chief at the New Mexico Compass. “The plan is to build a database with the material we received and invite other media and people to contribute their own primary-source recordings or documents.”
Demarco, who is also a UNM alumna, would like to launch the database by the beginning of next year, though it would continue to evolve as people contribute stories and records, she said. They are also asking for donations from the public to help pay for expenses.
“We’ve done a lot of preliminary interviews and are working up stories. We’ve launched an Indiegogo campaign to fund the building of the database,” she said.
According to a Department of Justice report released in April, Albuquerque police officers have often used excessive force in an unjustified manner.
“We reviewed a random sample of the department’s use-of-force reports completed by officers and supervisors between 2009 and early 2013. Our sample consisted of over 200 force reports,” the report said. “We find that officers frequently misused electronic control weapons, commonly referred to by the brand name ‘Tasers.’”
New Mexico Compass members said that police and city officials had been evasive and have at times outright refused to provide information requested by city councilors, policymakers, journalists and Albuquerque residents — including the families of those fatally shot by police officers.
“It occurred to me that if we pooled all of our records and made them publicly available, we could start to create a complete picture of these shootings, really begin the work of telling this story, and not just in a reactive, chase-the-news-event sort of way,” Demarco said.
In April she made a request for all of the audio and video associated with fatal police shootings since 2010, she said.
“In May the records custodian said the A/V was ready for pickup, but each DVD and cassette cost $20, so the total would be more than $1,160,” Demarco said.
She scrounged up the cash from media partners — KUNM pitched in, and so did Citizen Media Group — and she went to the office to pay, she said.
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“They handed me my records and took my money, but the receptionist came back and told me they were not going to release the records after all and returned my money. I refused to hand them over, and eventually they let me leave with them,” Demarco said.
Under New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act, the public has the right to access any materials, including police reports, used on behalf of a public body that relates to public business.
In July the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government announced that the City of Albuquerque would charge no more than $6.75 for DVDs and $2.75 for CDs for public records requests.
“We initially paid $20 per cassette and DVD, for a total of $1,160. The city’s stated policy online was $5 per record. I have never gotten an answer as to why we were charged so much,” Demarco said. “We were refunded two-thirds of our money.”
New Mexico Compass members have been doing interviews with family members of the victims and former police officers, as well as seeking other sources, to evaluate the situations and the materials.
“It’s irresponsible to simply release all of the material without any reporting or context,” Demarco said. “Some of these recordings and photos, though public record, are challenging to look at because they can be disturbing and visceral. It’s a sensitive issue.”
She said the interviews conducted by Compass members with the families of the victims would be published.
“Those interviews will become stories that will be published on the database, on nmcompass.com, and will air on KUNM 89.9 FM, one of our media partners in this endeavor,” she said.
She said that the aim of the project is to invite people to look forward and envision how things could be improved within the police department.
“This isn’t just another ‘Albuquerque is scary’ series. If people have more information, an informed public can make good decisions,” she said. “That’s my unwavering belief as a journalist.”
The Indiegogo campaign has raised $650 of its $9,375 goal. To see the campaign, visit indiegogo.com/projects/examining-a-culture-of-aggression.
Sayyed Shah is the assistant news editor at the Daily Lobo. He can be contacted at assistant-news@dailylobo.com or Twitter @mianfawadshah.
