(A) Requests for Hearing. Any person who has filed a civilian complaint and who is dissatisfied with the findings and/or recommendations of the Director may request a hearing by the Board within 30 days (inclusive of weekends and holidays) of receipt of the Director's findings letter. The Board shall notify the Office of Police Reform of the request for hearing and hold a hearing on the matter at its next regularly scheduled meeting provided that there is a period of at least 14 business days between the receipt of the request for hearing and the next Board meeting. Any such appeals shall be reviewed in accordance with standards of conduct prescribed below.
(1) The Board shall adopt and follow rules for appeals that implement the requirements of this article and ensure fairness and completeness in its reviews. For purposes of these reviews, the Board members shall, at a minimum, adhere to the following standards of conduct:
(a) Remain impartial in deliberations and decisions and abstain from any independent investigation or review of information not presented by the investigation report or within the investigation file;
(b) Refrain from any ex-parte communication relating to the matters and parties under consideration other than at a properly noticed meeting, and recuse from any related hearings as may be necessary based on any improper ex-parte communication; any ex-parte correspondence that is inadvertently received by a member shall be referred to or otherwise disclosed to the Director and, when appropriate, made available for review by the relevant complainant and APD officer or their representatives; and
(c) Refrain from prejudgment on matters coming before the Board until such time as all relevant information has been reviewed and considered at a properly noticed meeting, and recuse from any hearing in which he or she has a direct or Indirect personal conflict of interest or cannot otherwise accord a fair and impartial review, or in which such member's participation would create the appearance of impropriety or partiality.
(B) Upon close of the hearing the Board may modify or change the findings and/or recommendations of the public record letter and may make further recommendations to the Office of Police Reform regarding the findings and/or recommendations and any discipline imposed by the Office of Police Reform or proposed by the Office of Police Reform only upon a showing by the complainant that: 1) a policy was misapplied in the evaluation of the complaint; 2) that the findings or recommendations were arbitrary, capricious or constituted an abuse of discretion; or 3) that the findings and recommendations were not consistent with the record evidence. The Board shall document the outcome of the hearing in a written Notice of Decision that shall be provided to the complainant, the individual against whom the complaint was filed, the Director, and the Office of Police Reform. Within 20 days of receipt of the decision of the Board, the Office of Police Reform shall notify the Agency and the original civilian complainant of his or her final disciplinary decision in this matter in writing, by certified mall.
(C) Appeals of the Final Disciplinary Decision. If any person who has filed a civilian complaint under §§ 9-4-1-1 through 9-4-1-14 is not satisfied with the final disciplinary decision of the Office of Police Reform or any matter relating to the Office of Police Reform’s handling of his or her complaint, he or she may request that the Chief Administrative Officer review the complaint, the disciplinary recommendation of the Director, and the action of the Office of Police Reform by requesting such review in writing within 30 days (inclusive of weekends and holidays) of receipt of the Office of Police Reform’s letter pursuant to § 9-4-1-10(B). Upon completion of his or her review, the Chief Administrative Officer shall, within 90 days, take any action necessary, including overriding the decision of the Office of Police Reform regarding disciplinary action, to complete the disposition of the complaint. The Chief Administrative Officer shall notify in writing, by certified mail, the complainant, the individual against whom the complaint was filed, the Office of Police Reform and the Director, of the results of his or her review and any action taken.
(D) Information that is covered by Garrity will be treated as confidential to the extent permitted by law and may only be reviewed by members of the Board by application in writing, and by majority vote of the Board. If the Board votes to review Garrity material, members of the Board may only do so on APD property. The Board may not remove or make copies of such statements. If the Board desires to discuss the specific content of statements protected by Garrity, such discussion will occur only in closed session as permitted under the New Mexico Open Meetings Act, NMSA 1978, § 10-15-1(H)(2). The Board shall only summarize conclusions reached after a review of a Garrity statement but shall not disclose the statement. The Board shall maintain the confidentiality of any Garrity material or records that are made confidential to the extent permitted by law and Is subject to the same penalties as the custodian of those records for violating confidentiality requirements. In addition to any other penalty, any Board member or other person who violates the confidentiality provisions of this section shall be removed from the Board and shall be subject to prosecution for a misdemeanor subject to the penalty provisions set forth in § 1-1-99. This provision shall apply to all aspects of the Board's work.