Carlsbad found in violation of state records laws, ordered to turn over police reports

The New Mexico Department of Justice ordered the City of Carlsbad to turn over police reports and video footage from the investigation of a shooting that claimed the life of a 15-year-old boy in December 2023 to the Carlsbad Current-Argus, overturning a previous denial to access the public records.

The Department of Justice order was issued June 3 and called on the City of Carlsbad to provide the records to the Current-Argus within 15 days ― by June 18.

Carlsbad City Attorney Denise Madrid-Boyea said June 6 her office intended to comply with the order to provide the redacted materials the City had denied to the paper for about six months. She declined to comment further on the matter.

"The public's right to know, its right to access information, is foremost in the work that community newspapers undertake everyday," said former-Editor of the Carlsbad Current-Argus Jessica Onsurez. "This is a step in the right direction to accountability and transparency for the City of Carlsbad, but I know that it is everyone's responsibility ― whether private citizen, government agency or news reporter ― to ensure compliance with the Sunshine Laws of our state."

The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government (NMFOG), assisted the Carlsbad Current-Argus in filing a complaint to the the DOJ against the City, arguing the denial violated the Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) which provides public access to public records. Amanda Lavin, legal director with NMFOG said the records, despite including information about juveniles, were not exempt from IPRA as the City had previously asserted.

Violations of IPRA can result in fines and other financial repercussions.

“We’re happy that the New Mexico Department of Justice has taken this stance on this issue," she said. “It’s clear to FOG that there is no law that would make juvenile police reports confidential. They’re public records just like any other police report.”

One Carlsbad teen dead, another arrested in shooting

Carlsbad Police said in January a teenager was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter in the shooting death of a 15-year-old Carlsbad High School student in 300 block of Baler Street.

Police were initially called to the Carlsbad Medical Center where the boy was suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. He later died.

Police did not release the name of the minor publicly. Carlsbad Municipal Schools Superintendent Gerry Washburn confirmed with the Carlsbad Current-Argus that the deceased was a student at the high school.

More: Carlsbad teen charged with manslaughter in shooting death of 15-year-old

Carlsbad Current-Argus seeks more detail, denied by City

The Current-Argus published an initial story on the incident and subsequently requested to inspect any police reports or digital footage of the investigation on Jan. 3 under the Inspection of Public Records Act.

On Jan. 5, the City denied the request via a letter signed by City Clerk Nadine Mireles which also noted Madrid-Boyea as an “additional person responsible for this denial.”

The City cited a statute in New Mexico law known as the “Children’s Code” which Carlsbad officials said meant “all records pertaining to the child … are confidential and shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to the public,” read the letter. The letter also read that “An intentional and unlawful release of any information closed to the public in violation of that statute is deemed a petty misdemeanor pursuant to 32A-2-32(E)."

The City argued this applied to police reports from the shooting on Baler Street. NMFOG and the Carlsbad Current-Argus disagreed.

The Carlsbad Current-Argus reached out to NMFOG, which aids in mediating and litigating public records issues. Onsurez serves as president of the Board of Directors of NMFOG.

In a Jan. 10 email to Madrid-Boyea, Onsurez contended IPRA provided the newspaper the right to inspect the police reports, based on advice from attorneys at NMFOG and an opinion written by Executive Director Melanie Majors.

“As such, I request that those documents be made available to (Reporter) Adrian Hedden as requested. Please advise if you are refusing this request further and note that our intent would be to escalate the question to the Attorney General’s office if so,” Onsurez wrote in the email.

Madrid-Boyea reiterated the City's stance in a Jan. 12 email response to Onsurez.

"We believe this request involves complex considerations due to the unique circumstances," read the emailed response from Madrid-Boyea. "We believe the release of these records is prohibited from release to the public since they are confidential in accordance NMSA 32A-2-32A, which provides in pertinent part: 'All records pertaining to the child … are confidential and shall not be disclosed directly or indirectly to the public.'"

The matter was escalated, and the Current-Argus filed a complaint to the New Mexico Department of Justice on Jan. 19 for the IPRA violation with support from NMFOG.

Reports of juveniles 'cannot be withheld'

In her opinion, Majors argued that if a juvenile is charged as an adult, then the public records are available for inspection and transmission just like an adult’s. If a juvenile is charged as a juvenile, the records are available only for in-person inspection, not electronic copying or dissemination.

She went on to explain that juvenile records are exempt from inspection when they are “social, medical or psychological records” owned by the New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD).

The exemption cited by the City did not pertain to the police reports the Current-Argus requested, Majors concluded.

“With the exception of issues surrounding FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act) and schools, juveniles have almost no special protections when their information is contained in public documents in New Mexico,” Majors wrote.

“The short of it is: juveniles names and personal information cannot be redacted from incident reports. Incident reports about juveniles cannot be withheld. Period.”

More: Was your child locked down at school? Here's what Carlsbad schools are doing about it

DOJ sides with City to deny records, changes position and orders release

The Department of Justice initially rebuked Majors and Onsurez. On March 25, Assistant Attorney General Daniel Rubin wrote in a letter to Madrid-Boyea that the office agreed with the exception cited by the City of Carlsbad and was considering the matter closed.

Lavin responded in a letter to Rubin arguing the cited exemption only applied to documents sought from the CYFD or children’s court.

“I am concerned that the position you take in your letter is not founded in law, and will expose public agencies to liability for violation of IPRA should they rely on the current guidance from NM DOJ in the form of the most recent guide, as well as disposition letters such as the attached,” Lavin wrote.

More than two months later on June 3, the Department of Justice reversed its opinion in a letter to Onsurez, Hedden and Lavin, informing them the agency “reconsidered” its stance.

“Accordingly, we are asking the City to take remedial action – namely, providing the requesters the records sought within fifteen (15) calendar days of receipt of our most recent letter,” read the June 3 letter.

Lavin said she hoped other municipalities and government agencies would take note of the Department of Justice’s revised stance on juvenile public records.

“We hope to see other agencies across the state not mistakenly protect these records when they’re public,” she said. “We’ve seen a few other municipalities in New Mexico invoke the same exception under the Children’s Code. We’re glad the New Mexico Department of Justice found this is not a valid exception for this type of record.”

Adrian Hedden can be reached at achedden@currentargus.com or @AdrianHedden on the social media platform X.

This article originally appeared on Carlsbad Current-Argus: Carlsbad given 15 days to turn over police reports to newspaper