FARMINGTON, N.M. (AP) - A judge has ordered the New Mexico Department of Public Safety to pay $28,000 in a public records lawsuit filed by a man whose brother was fatally shot by a Farmington police officer.
The Farmington Daily Times reports that a judge ruled the agency had released skewed information on the 2017 shooting that favored the officer and was against the interests of Frankie Anchondo’s family.
A panel of prosecutors concluded that the shooting just north of U.S. Highway 64 in Farmington was justified.
The investigation was handled by the Department of Public Safety, which had cited an exception to public records law when Anchondo’s brother asked for records.
The judge says the agency didn’t hand over records until more than nine months after the case was turned over to prosecutors.
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Information from: The Daily Times, http://www.daily-times.com
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