LOS LUNAS – Surveillance video from the Central New Mexico Corrections Facility (CNMCF) in Los Lunas show guards standing by as an incarcerated man is brutally attacked, raising troubling concerns about the well-being of people in the custody of the New Mexico Corrections Department.
The incident also appears to contradict an incident report submitted by corrections staff that states the incarcerated men attacking the victim did so to protect a guard from harm.
The video from August 10, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico, shows two individuals identified by a source and an incident report as Captain Jesse Diaz and Corrections Officer Cameron Watson watching as four incarcerated men punch and kick another in-custody man.
The incident took place in an empty housing unit on the main compound of CNMCF’s Reception and Diagnostic Center. It starts with Watson entering the housing unit with the eventual attack victim.
Once inside, the officer empties his pockets in an act that could indicate he was preparing to engage in a physical altercation. A long-time NMCD employee speaking on the condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the incident said it is not uncommon for an incarcerated individual and corrections staff to handle disputes via fighting.
Editorial Note: The ACLU of New Mexico chose to blur the faces of incarcerated individuals in this video and to refrain from naming them in order to protect the identity of people in NMCD custody and who could face retaliation for their involvement in this incident. The guards are identified as government employees and law enforcement officials entrusted with protecting the well-being of people in the departments’ custody.
