Attorney accuses New Mexico sheriff of retaliation

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The New Mexico Attorney General's office says it will review a request for an investigation into Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales, who's accused of retaliating against a deputy after he testified in a wrongful death lawsuit against the department.
Attorney Sam Bregman, who is representing the girlfriend of a man shot and killed by another deputy in the department, sent a letter to the attorney general Thursday requesting that Gonzales be prosecuted and removed from office.
Bregman accuses Gonzales of opening an internal affairs investigation into Deputy Leonard Armijo, who provided an unfavorable deposition about the sheriff and his department during court proceedings for the pending wrongful death lawsuit.
The sheriff's office says it's handling an investigation into alleged misconduct with an "honest and fair fact-finding process" just as it handles all similar cases.