Board yanks Mora sheriff's cop license

SANTA FE (KRQE) - The state Law Enforcement Academy board has suspended the certification of Mora County Sheriff Thomas Garza who had a run-in with a deputy over a DWI arrest.

An audio recording by a second deputy captured the confrontation with Deputy Lee Allingham in April.

• Sheriff: Take your s*** off.
   
• Deputy: I'm taking this guy for a DWI.
   
• Sheriff: no you're not. No you're not.

Allingham had just arrested a suspected drunken driver who is the ex-husband of a department dispatcher.  Allingham claimed the sheriff showed up and ordered the man released.

Garza insisted he was only trying to be sure deputies followed proper procedures when the situation got out of control.

The LEA board suspended Garza's law-enforcement certification for four months and put him on probation for a year.

With Garza suspended, his department has no certified deputies, so state police are answering calls there.