Police Auditor Presents Biannual Report to Council

Las Cruces City Council met in a work session Monday, Feb. 24, 2025, and received its biannual report from the OIR Group, an independent police auditor now in its fifth year of formally reporting to the City.

The OIR Group was represented by Teresa Mangula and Stephen Connolly. The OIR Group biannually conducts an audit, or review, of cases investigated and completed by the Las Cruces Police Department’s Internal Affairs section. OIR determines if the cases were complete, objective and thorough in terms of the investigative process, and that actions taken in response to the internal investigations were appropriate.

Monday’s review looked at internal affairs investigations that were completed between July 1 and Dec. 31, 2024.

OIR reviewed 20 cases that were investigated during the six-month window. Of the 20 cases, only three were external complaints from the public. The remaining 17 internal investigations were initiated by LCPD personnel.

The external complaints were related to dissatisfaction with aspects of calls for service. Some of the external complaints lead to suspected ancillary issues that were then investigated.

The internal investigations generally fell into the categories of suspected improper use of a Taser, responses to mental health crisis calls, and issues of integrity and potential officer misconduct.

The 20 cases investigated during the six-month period involved 88 total allegations of policies or procedures that may have been violated. LCPD’s internal investigations resulted in:

• 63 sustained (allegation is true and officer’s action was inconsistent with policy)
• 17 exonerated (incident occurred but investigation determined officer acted lawfully)
• 2 unfounded (incident in complaint was falsely reported or not factual)
• 6 not sustained (insufficient evidence exists to prove or disprove complaint)

Investigations that were sustained resulted in corrective actions including remediation, additional training, discipline or termination of employment.

The OIR group praised LCPD for making a concerted effort to complete investigations in a timely manner.

The OIR Group also reviewed demographics and profiles of complainants. In five years, OIR has identified the race or ethnicity of 60 complainants and has found no evidence that suggests any racial group has been disproportionately targeted by LCPD.

The overall impression by the OIR Group is that LCPD is doing an excellent job identifying potential violations and investigating complaints.

Besides presenting its biannual findings to City Council, Magula and Connolly met with Las Cruces residents Monday evening at Munson Senior Center where they discussed the OIR Group report and gathered feedback.

The City contracted with the OIR Group in 2021 to audit internal investigations completed by LCPD. Monday’s biannual audit report was the seventh presentation to City Council.

Anyone who wishes to file a complaint against LCPD can do so online or directly to the OIR Group at [email protected].

Monday’s meeting can be seen in its entirety, along with all Council work sessions and regular meetings, on the City’s YouTube Channel. Councilors will next meet in a regular meeting at 1 p.m. Monday, March 3, 2025, at Council Chambers, 700 N. Main St.