Jury gets case filed by former APD employee

Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
·2 min read

May 22—Jurors began deliberations Wednesday in a civil lawsuit filed by a former Albuquerque Police Department employee who alleges she was forced out of her job for reporting wrongdoing in the department.

The trial is the latest in a series of legal actions and settlements that arose during the tenure of former APD chief Michael Geier.

Geier led APD from his appointment in December 2017 by Mayor Tim Keller until Keller forced him to resign in September 2020.

In her suit against the city, Paulette Diaz alleges that she was forced out as an APD administrative assistant and ultimately fired by the city in retaliation for reporting misconduct by a top APD official.

Andrea Robeda, an attorney for the city, said in closing statements Wednesday that Diaz had been Geier's hand-picked administrative assistant and was removed by incoming Chief Harold Medina in 2020 when Medina replaced Geier.

"When Harold Medina was named interim chief of the Albuquerque Police Department, he brought in his own administrative assistant," Robeda said. "And he did so because it was his right to do so, just like Chief Geier did before. There's nothing retaliatory about that."

Attorneys made closing arguments Wednesday on the fifth day of the trial in 2nd Judicial District Court before Judge Lisa Ortega.

Diaz's attorney, Thomas Grover, told jurors that Diaz was transferred to another department shortly after she sent a memo to Geier reporting what she described as improper and potentially illegal behavior by Geier's then-chief of staff, John Ross.

Diaz was ultimately fired by the city in violation of the state's Whistleblower Protection Act, he said.

"We ask that you find that the city violated the Whistleblower Protection Act in this matter, and issue an award for Ms. Diaz's financial and emotional distress injuries," Grover said.

In a July 2020 letter to Geier, Diaz alleged Ross received a raise and made various purchases, including a laptop computer, without the proper approvals. Geier subsequently ordered an Internal Affairs investigation into Ross. It found no major infractions, an APD spokesman said in 2020.

In testimony earlier this week, Ross became emotional when asked if he committed any wrongdoing and responded that Diaz had attempted to ruin his career.

In November 2022, the city agreed to pay $400,000 to Ross to settle claims he made against the city.

That payment is one of several costly settlements the city has made in connection with conflicts that arose during Geier's tenure.

Others include payments to Cmdr. John Sullivan ($550,000) and two APD Academy officers ($175,000 each).

Geier himself has a whistleblower lawsuit pending against the city.

Grover, who also represents Geier, said that lawsuit is likely to come to trial next year.

Geier's suit alleges that Keller and other top officials ignored his concerns his efforts to investigate possible wrongdoing at APD and retaliated against him.