Federal lawsuit filed against Taos police by family of man killed in 2023 crash

TAOS, N.M. (KRQE) – A man was fatally hit with a car by a Taos County judge last year. Now, Nathan Charley’s family is suing the county and the police department responsible for overseeing the investigation in federal court.

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This crash took place back in August 2023. According to a previously filed lawsuit against the police department, Charley was intoxicated that night and his girlfriend had called the police to remove him from her home. When officers responded, they only picked him up, took him to a local gas station, and left him there. It was later that night Rael was driving home from “a gig” at a local bar when he struck Charley. Police later determined Charley was at fault for walking into an unlit street.

This sparked another legal battle, this time a federal lawsuit filed against the Taos Police Department, the Taos County Board of Commissioners, the chief of police, and the officers on the case. The federal suit claims the officers knew Charley did not have anywhere to stay in Taos because he had told them his closest family members were in Albuquerque.

But after the crash, one of the officers claimed Charley told them to take him to a Taos gas station because he had family who lived nearby. The attorney for Charley’s family said police are responsible for his death, arguing they should have taken him to jail for the night to sober up.

The suit also claimed police were influenced by Rael being a judge. Police said Rael showed no signs of intoxication. Rael was not criminally charged for the crash.

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