2018 New Mexico Statutes
Chapter 10 - Public Officers and Employees
Article 7F - Hazardous Duty Officers' Employer-Employee Relations
Section 10-7F-3 - Investigations of hazardous duty officers; requirements; limitation.

A. When a hazardous duty officer is under investigation by the officer's employer for alleged actions that could result in administrative sanctions being levied against the officer, any interrogation of the officer shall be conducted:

(1) when the officer is on duty or during the officer's normal waking hours, unless the urgency of the investigation requires otherwise; and

(2) at the employer's facility, unless the urgency of the investigation requires otherwise.

B. Prior to commencement of an interrogation session:

(1) the officer shall be informed of the name and rank of the person in charge of the interrogation and all other persons who will be present during the interrogation;

(2) the officer shall be informed of the nature of the investigation, and the names of all known complainants shall be disclosed to the officer unless the chief administrator of the officer's employer determines that the identification of the complainant shall not be disclosed because it is necessary for the protection of an informant or because disclosure would jeopardize or compromise the integrity or security of the investigation; and

(3) a reasonable attempt shall be made to notify the officer's immediate superior of the pending interrogation.

C. During an interrogation session, the following requirements shall be adhered to:

(1) each interrogation session shall not exceed two hours unless the parties mutually consent to continuation of the session;

(2) there shall not be more than one interrogation session within a twenty-four-hour period, unless the parties mutually consent to additional sessions, provided that there shall be at least a one-hour rest period between the sessions;

(3) there shall not be more than two interrogators at any given time;

(4) the officer shall be allowed to attend to physical necessities as they occur in the course of an interrogation session; and

(5) the officer shall not be subjected to offensive language or illegal coercion by the officer's interrogator in the course of an interrogation session.

D. An interrogation of an officer shall be recorded, and the complete interrogation shall be published as a transcript; provided that any recesses called during the interrogation shall be noted in the transcript. An accurate copy of the transcript or tape shall be provided to the officer, upon written request, no later than fifteen working days after the investigation has been completed.

History: Laws 2010, ch. 62, § 3.

Effective dates. — Laws 2010, ch. 62, § 10 made the Hazardous Duty Officers' Employer-Employee Relations Act effective July 1, 2010.