Despite the alleged misconduct by officers during a 2014 UNMPD sexual assault investigation, UNMPD Lieutenant Timothy Stump said there are still a lot of good officers working for the department.
Stump said that although the department’s contact info is on the back of every student’s Lobo ID card, many are not aware of what the UNM Police Department does.
“We’re a full-fledged police department within the UNM community. I think if people really understood that, we’d be utilized more,” he said. “We want everyone to know we’re here, but at the same time, how many of the people who come here want to see a police officer? That’s not what students come to school for.”
UNMPD is a department made up of certified police officers that conduct investigations and have the authority to make arrests, Stump said.
As far as personnel, Stump said he’s been involved in 90 percent of the hiring at UNMPD. He did not, however, personally hire UNMPD officers Guadalupe Guevara and Trace Russell Peck, who allegedly committed police misconduct in the 2014 case.
The majority of UNMPD hires are officers who have retired from other police departments, he said, as hiring officers who are already certified in New Mexico or another state saves the University money.
“Money’s tight at UNM these days,” Stump said.
Previously certified officers who apply at UNMPD are not required to submit to some of the regular hiring procedures, he said.
“When you come from a certified department, you’re considered qualified,” Stump said. “The majority of officers here are retired, and have stellar past careers.”
Officers who have received complaints against them while working at previous departments have been hired in the past, he said, but applicants sign for the release of internal affairs records, and past incidents are taken into consideration.
“The human brain doesn’t reach maturity until 25. A lot of the cops I know were hired at 19,” Stump said. “Most officers are disciplined within their first 10 years. They’ve made the mistakes they might make. After 10 years they’ve matured.”
Stump said UNMPD’s hiring process is less involved than at the Albuquerque Police Department, as APD hiring is a six-month process, while the UNMPD hiring process takes approximately two months.
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“We don’t do some of the things here. But you go through a lie detector test, and a background investigation where they interview your neighbors, friends and ex-coworkers,” he said. “You go through a psychological evaluation, which is a huge four-hour process. You go through an interview with a psychologist.”
Stump emphasized that UNMPD training differs from APD training.
“UNMPD training is not police training. It’s more to get officers acquainted with UNM,” he said.
For instance, Stump said UNMPD’s Sexual Misconduct and Assault Response Team receives specific training on how to handle sexual assault cases.
“We used to think we were adequately trained in empathy — without knowing the severe traumatic effects on a victim’s brain that has been discovered in the last three years,” he said.
UNMPD has since been thoroughly trained on how to interact with victims of sexual assault, Stump said.
Although training currently focuses on avoiding re-traumatizing sexual assault victims, he said officers still have to be unbiased during investigations.
“You can’t be biased no matter how horrific or not horrific the case is,” Stump said.
There is some level of comradery among officers at UNMPD, yet the department’s goal is to maintain a professional work ethic, he said.
“There are a few people here who know each other from past careers, but by no means are all of us hanging out at barbecues after work,” Stump said. “Discipline is handed out when needed. Doesn’t matter who is friends with whom. I’ve disciplined and conducted internal investigations involving officers I’ve known my entire life.”
Stump added that there are issues with the legal system that can sometimes interfere with investigations.
“There are timelines we have to meet. If you can’t meet a deadline, you turn in whatever you have up to that point,” he said. “A homicide investigation isn’t going to happen in the 10 days the District Attorney’s office expects you to have a case done.”
Stump emphasized that UNMPD does a different kind of police work than APD.
“We’re more proactive here. We’re involved with the community. You’re not afforded that opportunity at APD, as well as you are here,” he said.
Stump said many UNMPD officers also have children attending UNM, adding a personal element to the work that those particular officers do.
“We want to see that students are safe and that they graduate,” he said. “It’s a cliché, but the unconditional answer that everyone gives about why they became a cop is because they want to help people.”
Sara MacNeil is a freelance news report at the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at news@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @sara_macneil.
