New Mexico data shows no spike in police lawsuits since civil rights law passed

Resident lawsuits against police departments in New Mexico did not increase after the state passed a new civil rights law, according to data presented to state lawmakers this week. The findings contradict earlier warnings from local government officials who feared the legislation would flood courts with claims and drain insurance funds.

The study, released Thursday to the interim Courts, Corrections and Justice Committee, analyzed records from 2017 through 2023. It compared New Mexico and Colorado, both of which eliminated qualified immunity, against Washington and Utah, which kept the legal shield for public officials. Qualified immunity previously allowed police officers to avoid lawsuits even if they violated a resident's rights.

Joanna Schwartz, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, co-authored the report. Her team found no marked rise in the number of lawsuits filed against law enforcement agencies in New Mexico or Colorado during the study period. The data also showed no sharp increase in the amount of money paid out in settlements or in the number of police officers leaving the force.

Schwartz noted that resignations and retirements peaked in all four studied states in 2021. She attributed that spike to the national sentiment following the murder of George Floyd rather than to state legislative changes. Insurance rates for government agencies rose in all four states from 2017 to 2023, with no evidence linking the increases in New Mexico and Colorado specifically to the civil rights statutes.

The New Mexico Civil Rights Act was signed into law by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in 2021. It allows residents to sue if they believe their rights under the state Constitution were violated. New Mexico became only the second state, after Colorado, to remove qualified immunity as a defense in these cases.

Despite the data, Grace Philips, the risk management director for the New Mexico Association of Counties, urged lawmakers to change the law in the session beginning next January. She requested three specific amendments: capping the amount of money awarded in these cases, preventing plaintiffs from recovering damages under the state act and other laws simultaneously, and requiring advance notice before filing a suit.

Philips expressed concern over the financial stability of the insurance pools that government entities rely on. The current law caps claims at 2 million dollars, but that limit increases annually based on cost of living metrics. She asked lawmakers to return to the fixed 2 million dollar limit to ensure those funds remain solvent.

State Representative Marianna Anaya, a Democrat from Albuquerque, questioned Philips during the hearing. Anaya asked how many settlements have actually reached the maximum payout limit. Philips said she did not have that figure available at the time. Anaya noted that federal civil rights cases do not have a cap on damages and suggested the state should keep its current structure.