4 Investigates: Why wasn't sheriff cited?

Posted at: 08/17/2010 8:00 PM | Updated at: 08/18/2010 10:49 AM
By: Jeremy Jojola, Eyewitness News 4; Taryn Bianchin, KOB.com

After Eyewitness News 4 put pressure on New Mexico State Police, they have provided an in-depth explanation as to why they’re not citing Sandoval County’s sheriff for speeding in a construction zone and running a red last Thursday.

Investigative reporter Jeremy Jojola had some tough questions for both Trujillo and state police.

But on Tuesday, the state police announced they will not cite the sheriff based on his word, even after Eyewitness News 4 discovered the accident happened the day before.

A spokesperson for the state police said,  “This question should be pushed back to the sheriff on why did he tell [sic] our officers that he was responding to a crash that day.”

Sheriff Trujillo told Eyewitness News 4 that when he got the call about the accident, he was under the impression it just happened and admits to speeding up to 69 miles per hour with the flow of traffic in the 55 mile per hour construction zone.

The sheriff had this to say to his critics: “They have to understand, if a crime is committed at their house, do they want us to take our time and get there when we finish our coffee and finish eating? Or do they want us to respond as soon as possible?”

As for the red light, the sheriff says he was yielding to the officer, not knowing he was being pulled over. 

Jojola: “Sheriff, there is this perception that you are being left of the hook because you are a law enforcement officer.”

Trujillo: “Well no, not really because we have duties as officers to perform our duties and a lot of times we have to exceed the speed limit to investigate crimes.”

Eyewitness News 4 asked state police if they would treat a regular citizen the same way. A spokesperson responded in writing saying it’s up to the officer’s discretion, and that “...the sheriff stated he was responding to a crash. We took that as a fact from another law enforcement officer and decided not to issue a citation.”

State police say that’s their decision, and they’re sticking with it.

Below are the questions emailed by Eyewitness News 4 to Lt . Eric Garcia of the New Mexico State Police. (Both the questions and answers are unedited.)

Question 1: Why isn’t Sheriff John Paul Trujillo going to be cited?

Answer:   The decision to not cite John Paul Trujillo was based upon his original statement that he was responding to a crash.

Question 2:  We reported the accident Sheriff Trujillo was responding to happened the day before he was pulled over by your department.  Based on this information, why isn’t the sheriff going to be cited?

Answer:  This question should be pushed back to the Sheriff on why did he tell our officers that he was responding to a crash that day.

Question 3:  If a regular citizen who is not a law enforcement officer behaved the same way as Sheriff Trujillo did on  camera, would he or she be treated the same way by your department?

Answer: The discretion to cite or not cite is upon the officer, there are times through an officers career that he or she will not issue a citation for a traffic infraction as we saw here, the Sheriff stated he was responding to a crash. We took that as a fact from another Law Enforcement officer and decided not to issue a citation.

> Raw audio: Phone interview with Sheriff Paul Trujillo explaining the incident  (7 minutes)

> State police won't cite sheriff for speeding

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