APD uses devices commonly known as breath-a-lizers to determine whether drivers who have been arrested for DWI are actually intoxicated. Of course, drivers have the right to decline taking the test but the penalty for doing so is the loss of one's driver's license for a period of a year.
Each APD substation has one of these breath-a-lizers or Intoxilizer 8000s. Like all technology used for law enforcement, these electronic devices are required to be certified yearly. In the case of the Northeast Heights Substation, the Intoxilizer 8000's certification expired September 30th, 2008. Of course, the expiration was not noticed until December 2008. The person who's responsible for making sure that the substation's Intoxilizer remains continuously certified is Wayne Dechano.
When arresting officers go to court one of the things that they must testify to is the certification of the device used to gather the evidence against the accused. The problem is that in every case that involved the Northeast Sub's Intoxilizer officers couldn't truthfully testify that the device was certified. Our Eyes tell us that despite the certification problem, officers were instructed to testify that the "machine is certified."
You might note the use of the present tense. Currently, the Intoxilizer 8000 at the Northeast Sub is certified. However, it wasn't certified between October 1, 2008 and December 2008 for anyone arrested for DWI and taken to the Northeast Sub for testing.
It's bad enough that APD screwed up and continued using a device that wasn't certified and it wouldn't be the first time that someone made a mistake. However, once the error was found officers were not only instructed to bend the truth a bit by testifying to the device's current status, but they attempted to sell it to the rank and file by "certifying" the unit on the word of the very person who failed to make sure the Intoxilizer 8000 was properly certified in the first place.The photo to the right is of the note placed on the Intoxilizer to "certify" the unity despite the fact that it hadn't been properly certified. Look, we understand the impulse to well... cover your... you know. And the unit itself may have been working just as well on October 1st as it was on September 30th. But the simple fact is the unit's court accepted certification only lasts a year and APD has the same obligation to abide by the rules as everyone else does - arguably even more. Now, cases that could have been won - perhaps should have been won - are being dismissed.
This didn't have to happen. Officers could have used another Intoxilizer. It would have been inconvenient, but the results wouldn't have been open to challenge and the cases subject to dismissal when presented in court. Not surprisingly, APD couldn't keep this snafu under wraps and officers are refusing to bend the truth when testifying and judges are responding by dismissing the cases brought before them.
20 comments:
Who cares? This is a(n) ill attempt at inciting the reader.
The DWI fight in New Mexico has been highjacked, and prostituted out by the extremist special interest groups like MADD, and The DWI Resource Center.
It's no longer about stopping drunk driving. The cause has slowly but surely moved to takeing a persons rights away (Due Process). Seizing someones car before they have had their day in court is NOT due process.
The numbers related to DWI arrest, convictions, wrecks, and fatalities are all down throughout New Mexico. The enforcement, public awareness, and a responsible public are makeing this possible.
As long as a close acquaintance of Governor Bill Richardson is supplying all the breath-a-lizers or Intoxilizer 8000's to the different enforcement agencies throughout the state, as long as the U.S Constitution is ignored by our leaders while drafting important legislation regarding due prossess, as long as bias groups with a vengeance are considered to be an authority concerning information about the differences between a drinker or a drunk, promoting only their personal agenda’s, and as long as we continue to care more about self and less about those around us, we are all in deep trouble!
Let the neo-prohibition continue because we have lost the most important thing we own, our liberty and freedom.
Put Winter on the Scamera Artist Mug Shot Wall. His assistant lobbied for the cameras in Santa Fe. If you don't, you are not honest with your readers
Put Cadigan on the wall. His firm cashed checks from RedFlex. If the black eye does not report all info, people will stop reading it.
Ok so if the leadership instructed the rank and file officer to testify to this what does that say about their integrity? There needs to be change in the leadership at APD!!!!!
It should incite the reader. If this leads to 1 person getting out of DWI charges due to neglegence of APD, that is a danger to the citizens.
We need to put AFD in charge of it since they are the only ones who seem to know what their doing. I saw they now are incharge of the mid-schools. Good work AFD
...Marty Ch-gojevich sucks. He makes Blago look like a pro...
If this in fact true then every case that Dechano has testified in, as the expert, is in jeopardy. This could very well be 100's of cases!!!!!
Look out the defense attorneys are going to have a feild day and APD is going to get slammed.
Wayne needs to be fired. His negligence is going to cost a lot of cases to go down. Where is his discipline?
Albuquerque Aviation Police don't use their 8000 it should be up for sale oh wait Marshall got it for "FREE" as Marshall says "Do me a favor please pretty please" (HE'S A JOKE and his Department is a JOKE)
It's time to put up or shut up.
If people were ordered to commit perjury, as you allege, then a crime has been committed.
Stop talking about it and see that some charges are filed. Or is this a bunch of he said, that he said, that he said, ...
Yep, AFD is now in charge of gang intervention.
Like Marty said when we're just sitting around waiting for calls we could be at the middle schools. What an insult he came off as saying: when there sitting around doing nothing! 90,000 calls a year of doing nothing!! The station and trucks don't clean themselves. Our contiued training isn't done my osmosis etc etc etc...
I just want to know when he's going to issue us our guns and vests? I'm not going to break up those scum bag gun carrying ass crack showing gang bagger's fights. Let little Marty go out and do it. Better yet send his kids to the schools, with his daughters criminal history she'd fit right in.
No, not “he said”, “she said”.
More like the same good ‘ol boy/girl political corruption that has plagued this state for decades. Not much the innocent, ethical, person with integrity can do about it, unless they want to face retaliation up to being buried on the west side. NO JOKE!
So to put up or shut up, from the 5th or 11th floor, just wait until you’re on the outside and you’ll know what the majority of us anonymous’ are talking about. All of you suck asses days are numbered, whether Marty wins again or not.
I know several officers that will come forward and tell everyone how they were told to testify. 5th floor wants them to lie about the validity of the machine
Eye: what's up with this poster "put Winter & Cadigan on the mugshot wall" over and over again--ENUF ALREADY!!!
BTW: Cadigan resigned from Redflex a while ago just FYI
Last poster, let's get this correct since we're trying to maintain truth in advertising: Cadigan did not resign from the RedFlex contract, he was FIRED by RedFlex. If it wasn't for that, he'd still be smiling at counsil meetings shaking his right fist at RedFlex while the left would be behind his back collecting a check from them.
There were two signs like this posted at the substation. An officer pulled the first one and then a second was promptly posted by a sgt. The officers were told to testify that the "machine was certified".
Cadigan and Winter are both whores. Pay them enough (RedFlex or APS) and they'll spread 'em wide.
R U sure about that?
Why would anyone lie because someone tells you too. This sounds like little kids stuff- 5th floor? 11th floor? Basement? Are you all lost sheep waiting to be lead by someone? Do you sleep at night? Are you not men?
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