New Mexico Sheriff Arrested By FBI For Abusing His Power

Sheriff Thomas Rodella and his son, Thomas Jr., were arrested in Northern New Mexico by the FBI Friday on charges of assaulting a motorist after a March incident that left a man injured.

ABC News reports that the two allegedly chased the motorist, identified only as M.T., at a high speed, cornered him on a dead end road, threatened him with a silver revolver, and then dragged the man from his car and threw him to the ground before assaulting him.

The motorist reportedly begged the sheriff not to shoot him. According to the indictment, Sherriff Rodella was not in uniform at the time, but his son identified him as sheriff to the man after he was dragged from the car. USA Today reports that when the man asked to see his badge, the sheriff allegedly pulled him up by the hair and slammed the badge into his right cheek and eye, saying, “You want to see my badge? Here’s my badge, mother**er!”

The motorist was then arrested and charged with aggravated assault of a police officer and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Sheriff Rodella claimed in a report he filed the day after the incident that the motorist had “made more than one attempt to run me over” on the shoulder. Prosecutors dismissed the case shortly after his arrest.

According to CBS News, U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Damon Martinez, said, “We take little pleasure in charges against any law enforcement official.” He added that both men “acted under the color of the law” in the motorist incident. It is not clear if the sheriff’s son was acting as an off-duty deputy at the time of the assault.

Both defendants have been released under their own recognizance. However, Sheriff Rodella is not permitted to carry a gun and his son is not permitted to have contact with any law enforcement other than the senior Rodella. Neither is allowed to leave Rio Arriba County for reasons other than to meet with their attorneys.

This is not the first time Sheriff Rodella has been involved in a scandal. His office was searched last year after the media reported that his staff was taking donations for a scholarship fund managed by the sheriff as bribes to drop traffic offenses. In June of this year, the FBI searched his home again just hours after he lost the nomination for county sheriff to James Lujan, a deputy Rodella had fired.

During his time as a NM State Police office, Rodella was disciplined for drug use, falsifying reports, abusing sick leave, using his position for personal gain, and improper use of a weapon.

The sheriff and his son could be facing some serious time if convicted, but Sheriff Rodella’s attorney, Bob Gorence, doesn’t seem to think they have anything to worry about. “We can wait to try this,” he said, “and I expect an inevitable acquittal and vindication.”

Sheriff Rodella’s case is the second incident in less than a week involving a law officer abusing power. The Inquisitr just last week reported on a 2011 video of Connecticut police beating a motionless man that resulted in the recent arrest of one of the officers involved.

Image courtesy of KOAT7