Los Alamos Police Cpl. Jack Casias

Los Alamos Police Cpl. Jack Casias remains on desk duty almost seven months after an incident involving a fellow officer resulted in injuries to his arm, wrist and hand. He has been assigned to administrative duties for the department since the incident, which was investigated by New Mexico State Police (NMSP) at Chief Dino Sgambellone’s request.

Los Alamos Police Cdr. Preston Ballew

A tort claim notice filed Nov. 14, 2016 against LAPD and Cdr. Preston Ballew asserts that Ballew intentionally battered him during the incident. It alleges that Ballew, “intentionally grabbed Casias’ right arm, placed handcuffs on his right arm, then slammed the handcuffs with both hands with the intention to cause harm to Casias”.

Casias suffered an arm, wrist and hand injury “directly related to the intentional battery committed by Ballew”, according to the notice. It also indicates that Casias intends to bring legal action against Ballew, the LAPD and the County, “due to Ballew’s intentional actions”.

The investigation by NMSP Patrolman David Allan consists of interviews with Casias as well as Cdr. Oliver Morris and Sgt. Christopher Ross, but there appears to have been no interview with Ballew. Ballew declined to confirm whether NMSP ever interviewed him and also declined to comment for this story. Sgambellone deferred all questions on the investigation to the NMSP.

Allan’s report states that Casias told him he was standing in Ross’s office doorway and Ballew was seated on a chair to his right. Casias said Ballew pulled his handcuffs out of their holder and began to twirl them on his finger. He said Ballew then placed the handcuffs on Casias’s right wrist and began to twist them around. He said he told Ballew to stop and pushed Ballew off him. He said when he tried to remove the handcuffs, Ballew took both hands and clamped the handcuffs. He told Allan that Ballew asked in a sarcastic way if he could help him.

Casias said he went to the doctor and was unable to have an MRI due to his size. He said he went to a hand specialist where he was unable to confirm his injuries but that he may have ruptured tendons and nerve damage. Allan’s report says Casias told him that Ballew overworks him and he has issues with because he abuses his authority. He said Ballew had horsed around with him before by lightly pushing him and softly pushing him in the back. He said Ballew is known to antagonize and try to fit in with the guys. Casias said he didn’t know what was going through Ballew’s mind but that he should know that placing handcuff on someone was going to hurt them.

Allan said he watched a video of the area outside Ross’s office which did not show the altercation by showed the behavior of Casias and Ballew after the incident. He said they appeared to be messing around and joking and that Casias “kicks Ballew in the leg playfully”.

In his interview with Allan, Ross said he heard Casias ask Ballew, “What are you doing with my handcuffs?”. He said the two men began to wrestle with one another and it looked like Casias was going to fall into Morris. He said Morris told them to knock it off. Ross stated that Casias suggested they “take it to the mats” and that it seemed Ballew had the upper hand. He said once the two men separated, he could see the cuff on Casias’s hand. Ross said he didn’t hear them arguing prior to the altercation and that the incident wasn’t provoked. He said Ballew and Casias had a typical commander and subordinate relationship, that they had argued before but that nothing had escalated. He said he never heard Casias complain about the injury or tell Ballew to stop. Ross said they “didn’t appear to be mad or like messing around,” and that, “it was just weird”. He stated that Casias still had red marks on his wrist four days later but that his wrist had not bruised.

Morris told Allan he was in Ross’s office looking through tools in the corner to adjust the rifle rack in his police unit. He said Ballew and Casias were “talking smack” but he didn’t recall what was being said. He said he heard them begin to struggle physically and laughing during the physical confrontation. Morris said the altercation lasted about 15 seconds and at the end, Ballew fell on him. He said he pushed him up and told him to get off.

Morris said that after the incident, Casias did not appear hurt and that Casias said, “Let’s take this to the mat, bitch,”. He told Allan there was not bad blood between the two men to his knowledge. Morris said Casias continued to hang out with him and Ballew “where they carried on with normal conversation” and that Casias “appeared to use his right hand fine while using tools”. Morris said it is common for he Ballew and Casias to give each other a hard time and to horseplay. He said he did not see or hear the handcuffs.

Allan’s report concludes by saying he informed NMSP Lt. Victor Villa of what was disclosed in the interviews and seen on the video. He said Villa informed him “per our chain of command” that NMSP “would not handle the investigation and that it was to be handled properly” by LAPD. As of press time, Villa has not returned calls from the Los Alamos Daily Post.