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SANTA FE – Santa Fe Police Chief Eric Garcia is facing something of a mutiny, as four high-ranking officers are accusing him of a host of wrongdoings, including trying to hire friends despite black marks on their records and meddling in internal SFPD investigations.

The allegations are contained in a lengthy memo delivered to City Manager Brian Snyder this week.

The city has denied public records requests for the memo, but it was obtained by the Journal on Friday.

The four officers, SFPD lieutenants Robert Vasquez, Thomas Grundler, Michele Williams and Sean Strahon, say mid-level and upper management in the department “has no confidence and do not support” Garcia, and that the chief and his supporters have fostered an atmosphere of hostility, retaliation and unethical behavior that is “jeopardizing the safety of Santa Fe’s community.”

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They say he recruits individuals to the department who have faced ethics or criminal accusations and grants personal favors and contracts to friends.

So far, Snyder and other city officials have remained mum on the memo dated Tuesday. Garcia acknowledged that he had seen the letter earlier this week, and Lt. Andrea Dobyns, the police department’s spokeswoman, said, “A handful of officers will not change the forward direction that our department is going.”

The memo accuses Garcia of overriding background investigation findings to support police applicants “with unethical and criminal histories, with his intent” to hire them.

But payroll records available on city government’s online “transparency” site show only one of the nine recruits listed in the letter was employed with the city as of July 2.

Of the applicants said to have been supported by Garcia – who was previously Española police chief and served in the State Police – the memo says one quit the State Police when accused of time-card fraud; one failed a psychological exam, was fired from Albuquerque police for lying and was arrested for assault while working for the Española police; one was fired from the Gallup police; one resigned from State Police after trying to get a deputy to drop traffic charges against his father; one has “a gambling problem” and admitted interfering with two criminal State Police investigations; and one was fired from State Police for stealing evidence or found property.

In another case, the memo alleges, Garcia’s previously reported effort to loosen the department’s policy against hiring people with domestic violence convictions was to benefit an applicant who was previously arrested for domestic violence but later pleaded to simple battery.

Garcia backed off the change after a reporter called about it. This same recruit, who has worked for other police agencies, was accused of allowing her son to drive a police car recklessly around a Santa Fe neighborhood with sirens and police lights going.

Wagner case

Concerning one of Garcia’s personnel moves that has been controversial from the start, the lieutenants’ memo states that mid-level and upper management opposed Garcia’s rehiring of Lt. Jason Wagner, who is to stand trial later this year for three counts of time-card fraud in a case brought by the District Attorney’s Office.

Wagner resigned during previous Chief Ray Rael’s tenure after Rael presented him with evidence that he was not in Santa Fe when he reported on his time cards that he was.

The memo notes that Garcia hired a friend, private investigator Glenn Holmes, to conduct an investigation of Wagner – which failed to confirm any wrongdoing – instead of letting the Recruiting Division investigate, which the memo says was against department policy. It says Garcia also tried to hire Holmes to conduct a second investigation, on a civilian SFPD employee, and brought on Holmes’ daughter as a paid department intern.

The group alleges that an SFPD paralegal and Capt. Andrew Padilla began preparing paperwork to put Wagner on paid leave after a state district judge found recently that there was enough evidence for the three felony time-card fraud charges against Wagner to go to trial.

Garcia allegedly told Padilla that “Wagner will remain in his current assignment” and receive a paycheck, and said he had the support of City Manager Snyder and City Attorney Kelley Brennan on the decision. Wagner was in fact placed on unpaid leave but has been able to continue receiving a paycheck using accrued leave.

Capt. Padilla instructed Strahon to do an internal affairs investigation of Wagner, but Garcia intervened and blocked the probe, the memo states.

Also, Strahon asked Garcia to open an investigation of Sgt. Lawrence Vasquez, who testified in one of Wagner’s court hearings that he, like Wagner, had worked from home without notifying a supervisor. Garcia told Strahon “he knew of at least 20 other officers who were doing the same thing,” and said he was investigating those officers with Snyder and told Strahon to stand down, the memo states.

Union chief targeted

The memo maintains that Sgt. Matthew Martinez, president of the officers union and an ally of Chief Garcia, has been investigated several times for policy violations. It says Garcia obstructed those investigations and altered investigators’ and supervisors’ recommendations. The memo states that Garcia has “openly expressed” that he will reduce Strahon’s recommendation for Martinez’s firing to a written reprimand.

Martinez said Friday that he has not read the memo, but a Journal reporter read him portions that pertain to him. “For someone to leak personnel matters that have nothing to do with their interest is ridiculous,” Martinez said.” All they’re trying to do is discredit the union and the chief.”

He added: “There are several lieutenants and above that campaigned for certain candidates during the mayoral campaign (of 2014). When those candidates didn’t get elected, they took a grudge with Mayor (Javier) Gonzales and Chief Garcia. … It’s unfortunate that these individuals feel entitled to other jobs or positions that they obviously weren’t appointed to.”