Court Opinion

ID: 9793133
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 02:43:17.627868+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:01:40.479390
License: Public Domain

BUSTAMANTE, Judge (concurring). {28} I concur in Judge Hartz’ opinion. I write separately because I am concerned that our case law interpreting Section 41-4-3(B) has unduly narrowed the concept of law enforcement under the Tort Claims Act. Our case law reflects an outdated model of the law enforcement officer as the “cop on the beat.” See Coyazo v. State, 120 N.M. 47, 49, 897 P.2d 234, 237 (Ct.App.1995). Focussing too narrowly on the activities of commissioned officers on the street creates the risk of missing a large portion of the law enforcement function today. The business of solving and proving crime is increasingly a technical pursuit. Mrs. Dunn’s death is a case in point. The decision to arrest and prosecute had little to do with the activities one normally imagines with pursuit and arrest on the street. Rather, it turned largely on the result of a scientific evaluation of technical aspects of the body and the death scene. If a technical investigation is handled recklessly — or is wantonly perverted — an improper prosecution can ensue as surely as if an officer on the street chooses to arrest and prosecute without reasonable suspicion or probable cause. There is no reason why the concept of “law enforcement officer” under the Tort Claims Act should not reach the technical, investigatory side of the law enforcement house.