City of Las Cruces agrees to cash payout, police reforms to settle lawsuit over chokehold death

LAS CRUCES, New Mexico — The City of Las Cruces has settled a civil lawsuit stemming from the death of a Latino detainee that a now-former police officer had placed in a chokehold, attorneys said Thursday.

The dollar amount of the settlement was not revealed, but the city has agreed to a number of reforms to the Las Cruces Police Department following the death of Antonio Valenzuela.

“We will not be disclosing the amount of compensation that has been received; however, we are confident that we have made it cost prohibitive for the Las Cruces Police Department to continue wrongfully killing its citizens,” said lawyer Sam Bregman, who represented the Valenzuela family.

Then-officer Christopher Smelser applied the deadly chokehold after a foot chase in February when Valenzuela fled during a traffic stop. At the time, Smelser can be heard on police video saying to Valenzuela, “I’m going to (expletive) choke you out, bro.”

Valenzuela was pronounced dead at the scene and the coroner determined he died from asphyxial injuries.

Smelser, who is white, was initially charged with manslaughter and later fired. The state attorney general has since upgraded those charges to second-degree murder and Smelser has pleaded not guilty.

As part of the settlement announced Thursday, Las Cruces will implement a new policy barring police officers from using chokeholds. Any officer who violates the ban would be subject to immediate firing.

Smelser's defense attorney Amy Orlando has maintained the chokehold technique he used was sanctioned by the police department, which she claims trained him in the use of it.

Orlando said Thursday she believes the city should have waited before entering into any settlement because she is "convinced that Smelser will be exonerated of all (criminal) charges."

However, legal experts note the standard of proof is vastly different in a criminal case than in a civil one. A notable example often cited is the 1995 murder trial of OJ Simpson, who was acquitted of criminal charges but found responsible for the killings in a separate civil suit.

Another new policy to be implemented as a result of the Las Cruces settlement requires police to intervene if they observe unjustified uses of force by fellow officers.

The LCPD must also implement annual mental health screenings of all officers and make periodic reporting to City Council on all use of force incidents and any disciplinary action taken in those cases.

In addition, officers must receive regular training in use of de-escalation techniques as an alternative to force, as well as undergo counseling on racial interactions.

The Washington Post has reported that between 2015 and last April, Las Cruces, where nearly 60% of residents are Hispanic, recorded the highest per capita rate of police killings in the nation.

Adrian Guzman, a spokesman for the city, said some of the policies required in the settlement are already in place. The vascular neck restraint chokehold used by Smelser, for example, was prohibited by a policy put forth by the former police chief after Valenzuela's death.

“For the past five years, the city engaged a police audit firm that reported internal affairs complaints and reported on the number of use of force complaints,” Guzman added. He said the city will seek proposals that continue and expand such reporting.

The fallout over Valenzuela's death came as Black Lives Matter protests swept the nation in the wake of the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Demonstrators have put pressure on police departments around the nation to make policy changes.

(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)