by Aidan Turowski
Daily Lobo
On weekend nights in Downtown Albuquerque, Darcy Brazen and fellow members of Copwatch stroll the streets looking for signs of police brutality.
"It's not our intention to find bad cops," Brazen said. "It's our intention to reaffirm what people's rights are."
Volunteers patrol the streets searching for injustices committed by members of law enforcement and provide a witness account if there are signs of police brutality.
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Founded in 1990 in Berkeley, Calif., Copwatch has spread to several states. With each group independently run by volunteers, there are chapters in Texas, New York, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico. The Albuquerque Copwatch chapter has been around since December 2004.
Brazen is one of the founding members of the Albuquerque chapter, and she makes sure the group has all the equipment needed, including a video camera and a police scanner.
Copwatch is a nonviolent, nonconfrontational citizen's advocacy organization that videotapes or directly observes police activity in the streets and advocates for victims after police misconduct, Brazen said.
Dressed in bright orange shirts with the bold words "Stop Police Brutality," a group of four or five volunteers monitor and videotape police officers on the job at routine traffic stops and pullovers, while maintaining a safe distance to not interfere. Most of the incidents they witness involve racial profiling, Brazen said.
If a situation becomes hostile, they will intervene by breaking up a fight if they have to, she said.
Copwatch also provides citizens police complaint forms to ensure they have all they need to make a proper case. A person with a complaint can fill out the form and turn it into the Police Oversight Commission located Downtown.
Student Rebecca Totzke said the organization is a good idea.
"I've seen these policemen stopping at stop signs, walking up and down the median telling people to pull over or looking into their car," Totzke said. "It makes me wonder what they are doing; is this legal?"
Walter Mitchell, a volunteer for Copwatch, said he is no stranger to police brutality.
During a domestic dispute in Santa Fe, Mitchell was shot from behind by an officer three times. According to the criminal complaint, he was charged with assaulting an officer with a sword with the intent to commit a violent felony.
After Mitchell was charged, his troubles with the police didn't end, he said.
"After the trial, I was subject to continued harassment, lots of drive-bys," Mitchell said. "They'd slow down and stare at my house, or stop there for a little while outside."
Lt. Patrick Davis of the UNM Police Department declined to comment on Copwatch, but said there are ways for students to report misconduct on behalf of police officers.
"Every time we receive a complaint, we take it seriously," Davis said. "They can come here to UNMPD, and they can file a complaint. It's followed up in accordance with state law and UNM policies."
Copwatch has 25 members and holds meetings twice a month at the Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice on Harvard Drive.
"We expect not to capture a Rodney King kind of thing on camera," Brazen said, "It's our hope and intention that by filming these stops and by having the witness available, the police will stop the kind of misconduct that in some ways, they've become known for in this state."
Newcomers have to go through an orientation process, which includes an overview of patrolling procedures and a "Know Your Rights" workshop. A lawyer is present to inform people of their legal boundaries during the workshop.
"We've been having orientation for new members every two months," Brazen said. "Once people have an orientation and we know they're committed to Copwatch, they can start patrolling or doing other things with members."
