Cop defends his badge before LEA board

SANTA FE (KRQE) - For the first time we are getting a look inside the state process that let's cops plead their cases in hopes of keeping their badges.

They are all accused of breaking the rules, and one of the cops up in front of the board Tuesday has been in the news before.

News 13's Alex Tomlin was in the Law Enforcement Academy Board meeting on Tuesday and has the inside story.

Carlos Salazar made some shocking admissions in front of the LEA board this morning.

"I said, 'Look don't say anything, but I'm not going to show up to court, so if you show up to probably go away,'" Salazar told the board.  "And it was one less DWI I had to deal with at Metro Court."

We've told you about Salazar before .

He was a State Police officer in 2010 when he arrested a woman for drunk driving.

The woman claims Salazar groped her and exposed himself to her inside the station on Carlisle.
Salazar has always denied that and denied it again on Tuesday.

"I want to assure the board that even though I did not do what I was accused of, I still made some pretty stupid decisions, which I paid a heavy price for and learned a valuable lesson," he said.

But he can't deny this:  "You and I kind of hit it off that night, and I felt bad for you, and I just want to help you."

Phone recordings of Salazar calling the woman before he helped her get out of that DWI.

On Tuesday he was honest with the board.

"Did you ever contact her and tell her not to tell anybody?" board member and Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz asked.

"Yeah, I did.  I said don't say nothing," Salazar replied.

Salazar insists he didn't offer to skip out on her DWI trial because he was romantically interested in her.  He claims he had been transferred to the Santa Fe area and just didn't want to make the trip down to Albuquerque.

"I was one of the top DWI producers on DWI when I left Albuquerque I had quite a few DWIs on the docket," he said.

The director of the LEA recommended Salazar just get a slap on the wrist.  The board rejected that.

So the director will now decide a new punishment that the board will consider at the next meeting in April.

Salazar quit his job with State Police last summer and was hired by Santa Fe Police.

Santa Fe Police Chief Raymond Rael says he wasn't aware of the extent of the allegations against Salazar when he was hired.  Rael says he is waiting to see what punishment the LEA hands down before deciding whether Salazar will keep his job.