June 05--Three Albuquerque police officers have been suspended without pay in the past two months for various misconduct, officials said Monday.
Internal Affairs investigations into two others, who are on paid leave, are ongoing, officials said.
The three officers suspended included one who was arrested on charges he physically assaulted his wife, another who was caught on a cellphone video camera fighting with a man he was trying to detain Downtown and an officer drinking inside a bowling alley while his police vehicle sat outside.
The stiffest of the penalties, a one-month suspension, went to APD officer Jeremy Hollier, who was arrested shortly after 12 a.m. March 4 at his home in the Northeast Heights after police received a call from Hollier's wife, who told a police dispatcher he had choked her, threatened to kill himself and banged his head against a wall several times, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
In a 911 call released to the Journal, the woman can be heard telling the dispatcher that Hollier is an APD officer, although that fact wasn't mentioned in the criminal complaint. The woman tells the dispatcher that Hollier has gotten physical with her before, that he has threatened her and himself with a gun and says: "Ever since he became an Albuquerque Police Department officer he's been losing control and he's been violent."
The five-year APD veteran was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on felony charges of domestic violence and aggravated battery on a household member.
The charges were dismissed without prejudice to being refiled last month, according to court records. No reason was given.
Hollier's suspension is to be served in two 80-hour blocks, according to redacted disciplinary documents dated April 27 that were provided by the city of Albuquerque after a public records request from the Journal .
On April 10, APD officer Johnny Salas received a notice that he had been suspended for three days and restricted from his police vehicle for 45 days. Police say a citizen reported Salas was drinking at the Silva Lanes bowling alley in March and his police car was parked outside.
And on May 16, APD officer Andrew Hsu was suspended four days and required to get four hours of training on arrest procedures, de-escalation techniques and report writing. A cellphone video shows Hsu punching and trying to detain Jayson Bernard after a fight had broken out on Central Avenue Downtown. Hsu can be heard cursing at Bernard.
APD's Internal Affairs division still has ongoing investigations into two officers accused of domestic violence against their wives: Joey Sigala and Jonathan Romero. The officers are on paid leave, and criminal charges are pending against both, officials said.
APD officers arrested Sigala last month after his wife called authorities to say Sigala had beaten her and stolen some of her belongings. He was charged with aggravated burglary and false imprisonment. Sigala, a former police union president, also is the focus of a State Police criminal investigation into allegations of embezzled union funds.
Romero's wife called Bernalillo County sheriff's deputies last month after the couple had argued about a pending divorce, court records show. When deputies arrived, the woman told them Romero had forcefully pulled off her wedding ring. Deputies observed bruises on the woman's hand, and Romero told them he had grabbed the ring from her finger. He is charged with battery on a household member.
Copyright 2012 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
