Las Cruces to begin deleting mountain of archived police bodycam video - Algernon D'Ammassa, Albuquerque Journal
Las Cruces police have been using body-worn cameras to film interactions with the public for over a decade. According to Police Chief Jeremy Story, most of that footage remains in storage, presenting a growing expense and burden on city resources.
"We are the only police department that retains video indefinitely, that I’m aware of," Story told the City Council on Monday. "We've kept every video we've ever recorded going back almost 15 years with our original body cameras."
"It has taken up a lot of room," City Clerk Christine Rivera told the council. "I believe there are many terabytes of data, and in order for us to keep maintaining it, we would have to buy an additional server."
The council approved a policy allowing police to destroy evidentiary videos automatically three years after a criminal or civil case is closed — including the bulk of footage that has already met that threshold, with the city clerk’s overview to ensure compliance with record management policies.
According to archived reports, body cameras were introduced in Las Cruces on a limited basis in 2012. Today, all commissioned Las Cruces Police Department officers are required to film duty-related interactions with the public, after a decade in which use of the technology has expanded rapidly.
The LCPD does not use dashboard cameras, although the Doña Ana County Sheriff's Office does.
Last November, the council approved a $446,625 increase to its current five-year contract with Axon Enterprises for body cameras, tasers and data storage, increasing the contractual limit to $2.3 million. The contract expires this November. Among the reasons for the increase, as stated then, was the need for more storage space.
While the state requires police video to be retained for 120 days and some municipalities stick to that threshold, City Attorney Brad Douglas said that time frame would worry him. With a three-year statute of limitations on tort and civil rights claims, destroying video sooner than that could lead to claims for spoiled evidence, he said.
Story agreed: "We took, I think, a fairly conservative approach at three years, which ensures that if anything comes up within the time span for the civil process, the video is still there."
Non-evidentiary video footage can be destroyed after 180 days, per a resolution the council approved in April.
Story also confirmed that police would not destroy video related to open cases, such as unsolved homicides that may remain open for many years.
An additional consideration discussed was public records requests, which require staff members to research and review video responsive to the queries for required redactions, as well as data security risks.
"It's extraordinarily time-consuming and full of information we don't want," City Councilor Becky Corran said. "It’s a big and ever-growing problem."
Monday's vote also authorized the city to proceed with destroying video footage that has already passed the threshold.
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act added to Senate’s 'One Big Beautiful Bill' - Cathy Cook, Albuquerque Journal
Legislation to expand a program that compensates people who got sick after experiencing atomic radiation from nuclear bomb tests or uranium mining could have a new chance at passage, but Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who has advocated for the program since he was first elected, will likely vote against it.
Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., got a Radiation Exposure Compensation Act extension and expansion added to the base text of the Senate budget bill. It would include New Mexico downwinders for the first time.
Hawley and Luján, D-N.M., introduced a stand-alone expansion bill in January.
“The federal government dumped nuclear waste in the backyards of Missourians for decades — and then lied about it,” Hawley said in a statement. “These survivors sacrificed their health for our national security at the advent of the Manhattan Project.”
The legislation would expand the program to include new downwind areas in New Mexico, Utah and Arizona; increase benefits for atmospheric testing survivors; add uranium mine workers from 1971 to 1990; expand eligible diseases; and make residents in Missouri, Tennessee, Kentucky and Alaska who were exposed to contamination eligible.
Luján has been vocal in his opposition to the budget bill, which would make steep cuts to food aid and Medicaid. A recently released Senate draft aims to cut $1 trillion from Medicaid spending over 10 years.
“I was proud to pass RECA twice in the Senate with bipartisan support,” Luján said in a statement. “We can — and should — do it again, without ripping away health care or food assistance from those who need it most.”
NM Gov declares emergency for Trout Fire, as health department warns of smoke- Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico
Two wildfires burning north of Silver City have burned an area more than 80,000 acres, according to the latest updates, as state health officials warn of smoke impacts on respiratory health in the area.
Also, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham on Tuesday afternoon issued an emergency declaration, which directs $750,000 in state money toward firefighting efforts. She also announced she’d secured federal help via a Federal Emergency Management Agency grant that will cover some costs for fires that threaten to become “major disasters.”
“I appreciate our federal partners for taking this threat seriously and for doing their part in supporting the responders who are working their hardest to protect the community,” Lujan Grisham said in a news release.
The smoke advisory is in effect in Grant and Catron counties until at least Tuesday afternoon, according to health officials, with smoke reaching as far away as the Las Cruces area. The officials offered some tips here.
The advisory comes as both fires burn in hot, dry conditions forecasted to last for several more days. Since Monday, both fires grew significantly, with the Trout Fire doubling in size from 12,000 acres to more than 24,000, and the Buck Fire about 30 miles north of it growing from 34,000 acres to more than 57,000.
Both fires are now the biggest of this wildfire season in New Mexico. Forecasts for both note the drought conditions that aren’t expected to let up.
“Crews are bracing for increased fire activity,” according to the team in charge of the Trout Fire. “And the public should expect the potential for additional changes to evacuation status.”
While evacuations have been ordered in the Trout Fire, no structures have been damaged or destroyed in either blaze. A detailed evacuation map can be found here. A shelter for evacuees has been set up by Red Cross New Mexico at the Grant County Business & Conference Center in Silver City.
Private ranches with structures are near the Buck Fire, but crews are taking steps to protect them, according to previous updates. The Trout Fire is burning a little more than 10 miles north of Silver City.
The Buck Fire is 15% contained, according to the latest update. The Trout Fire is still 0% contained. The State Emergency Operations Center is coordinating resources requested by local emergency managers.
Measles detected in Deming wastewater- Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
State health officials confirmed Tuesday the detection of measles in Deming wastewater last week, and urged Luna County residents to watch for symptoms or seek vaccination if needed.
A wastewater detection does not change the official statewide case count in New Mexico, which remains at 81, with no confirmed cases in Luna County. The last confirmed and reported cases occurred in Lea and San Juan counties on May 27.
“This detection tells us there was at least one person infectious with measles in Deming on June 10 that has gone undiagnosed,” New Mexico Department of Health Epidemiologist Dr. Daniel Sosin said in a statement. “We expect that there may be more cases in Luna County in the coming days.”
The wastewater sample comes via a weekly state program testing wastewater in Albuquerque, Carlsbad, Chaparral, Deming, Las Cruces, Portales, Rincon, Rio Rancho, Roswell, Santa Fe and southern Doña Ana County.
Officials also announced a detection in Roswell last week.
Measles symptoms are often delayed by one to three weeks after exposure, and can be spread in the days before and after symptoms appear. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, red eyes and the spotted red rash on the head and face, spreading down the body.
According to health officials, two doses of the measles vaccine remains the most effective protection against contracting and spreading the disease. If caught, the vaccine also lowers the severity of symptoms. Since Feb. 1, NMDOH reports that more than 36,000 New Mexicans have received a vaccine.
NMDOH officials urge anyone with symptoms to stay home to prevent further spread and contact the state’s helpline staffed with nurses at 1-833-796-8773 for questions about testing, treatment and vaccines.
The state’s measles webpage includes information on vaccine clinics and case counts.
Texas stops providing new funding for border wall construction - By Nadia Lathan, Associated Press/Report For America
Texas has stopped putting new money toward building a U.S.-Mexico border wall, shifting course after installing only a fraction of the hundreds of miles of potential barrier that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott set out to construct four years ago.
State lawmakers this month approved a new Texas budget that does not include continued funding for the wall, which had been a multibillion-dollar priority for Abbott as part of a sprawling immigration crackdown. He even took the unusual step of soliciting private donations for construction, saying in 2021 that many Americans wanted to help.
On Tuesday, Abbott's office said President Donald Trump's aggressive efforts to curb immigration allowed the state to adjust.
The halt in funding was first reported by The Texas Tribune.
"Thanks to President Trump's bold leadership, the federal government is finally fulfilling its obligation to secure the southern border and deport criminal illegal immigrants," Abbott spokesman Andrew Mahaleris said. "Because of these renewed federal assets in Texas, our state can now adjust aspects of state-funded border security efforts."
The state has completed 65 miles (104 kilometers) of border wall since construction began. The Texas border with Mexico is roughly 1,200 miles (1,931 kilometers).
The wall has gone up at a slow pace as the state has navigated the drawn-out process of buying private land and confronting local opposition in some places. Abbott announced plans for the wall at a time when large numbers of migrants were showing up at the border, saying in 2021 that he believed a combination of state-owned land and volunteered private property would "yield hundreds of miles to build a border wall.'
The number of migrant crossings has fallen dramatically this year.
"There was no need for it in the first place," said Scott Nicol, a board member for Friends of the Wildlife Corridor, a habitat preservation group in the Rio Grande Valley. He has criticized the wall as ineffective.
"The only thing that's changed is the political dynamic," he said.
The new budget approved by Texas lawmakers allocates about $3.4 billion for border security for two years. That amount will not be used to build out new projects for the wall and instead go to the Texas Department of Safety and the Texas National Guard, the main agencies responsible for Operation Lone Star, Abbott's key immigration program launched in 2021 during the Biden administration.
The money allocated for border security is nearly half the $6.5 billion that was dedicated to immigration efforts the last time lawmakers earmarked the state budget two years ago.
Funds previously allocated for the wall will allow work on it to continue through 2026 and "will set the federal government up for success," said Republican Sen. Joan Huffman, the lead budget writer in the state Senate.
The agency responsible for constructing the wall has about $2.5 billion remaining in funding to cover up to 85 additional miles (135 additional kilometers) of the wall by 2026, according to a statement made in April by Texas Facilities Commission executive director Mike Novak, whose agency is overseeing construction of the project.
"This wall should have never been built, it's useless," said Bekah Hinojosa, co-founder of the South Texas Environmental Justice Network. "It divides our community."
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Lathan is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.