WATCH: Ruidoso Officer charged with lying about home break-in

RUIDOSO, N.M. (KRQE) – A Ruidoso police officer locked himself out of his apartment, and how he handled the situation landed him in handcuffs. KRQE Investigates obtained his coworkers’ lapel camera footage from the investigation revealing how they knew he was lying.

On Tuesday, July 2, just after 7 a.m., Matthew Amezquita called dispatch to report a break-in at his Ruidoso apartment.

DISPATCH: Radio [inaudible] dispatch. This is Katie, how can I help you?
AMEZQUITA: Hey, Katie, this is 622. Um, I just got back to my apartment, and I think somebody broke in.
DISPATCH: Oh, okay.

You can hear the surprise in the dispatcher’s voice. At the time, Amezquita was one of the police department’s newest officers. He had been on the just for just six weeks.

AMEZQUITA: As soon as I like, got down to where my apartment is, the door was wide open, and like, there’s like chunks of the door everywhere and stuff.
DISPATCH: Oh, so they like forced entry?
AMEZQUITA: Yeah.

Listen to the full dispatch call from Matthew Amezquita below.

The dispatcher sent officers to his home where they quickly found out nothing was missing. That is just one of a few reasons why Amezquita’s coworkers start questioning if their trainee is telling the truth.

DETECTIVE: You know how long I’ve been doing this?
AMEZQUITA: Many years, sir.
DETECTIVE: Twenty-three. So, I’m pretty good about reading situations. You know what I mean?

Police records state Amezquita was on duty at the time. But, his field training officer sent him home at the start of his shift that morning because he hadn’t shaved. That’s against policy. So Amezquita explained to the responding officers he stopped by Wal-Mart to get a razor, but his card was declined. So, he went home to use his electric razor instead. He shaved, left the apartment and called his Mom.

“That’s when I realized my body cam is still on, on the sink,” Amezquita told the Detective. “I was going to come back down and get it, and the door was wide open.” It had been kicked in, he explained.

However the timeline and narrative did not make sense to the veteran detective. The police report noted Amezquita’s neighbors did not see anything. And, the detective retrieved the Wal-Mart surveillance footage which showed Amezquita leaving the store with a bag in hand.

AMEZQUITA: I bought a candy, but that’s it.
DETECTIVE: Bought candy with your card.
AMEZQUITA: With, uh, the tap.
DETECTIVE: Okay. But you didn’t use that to buy your razor.
AMEZQUITA: No, sir.

The Detective repeatedly requested Amezquita be honest with him. “I looked at the boot patterns. What do you think I saw there?” he asked. Amezquita stayed silent as the Detective comforted him. “Okay. It’s okay. It’s not the end of the world, man. But I need you to be straight with me, okay? Why did – why did you kick it? Were you locked out?” “Yeah,” Amezquita replied. He admitted he locked his keys in the apartment, so he kicked in his own door to retrieve them. “So, I’m assuming maybe you thought what – that you’re going to pay for the door because you kicked it or what?” the Detective asked. “I knew that,” Amezquita answered.

The Detective asked Amezquita to take off his uniform. Another responding officer gathered the items and placed them in his patrol car.

Then, the Detective informed Amezquita he would be charged with making a false police report. “Now, keep in mind that this doesn’t have to be the end of law enforcement for you, okay? This is a misdemeanor. It’s not a big deal in, in the grand scheme of things,” he explained.

While Amezquita lost credibility with his department, he gained a lesson in decency from his superior. “I couldn’t have done this job when I was 21 years old, okay? I was 24 when I started, and I was barely at a level of maturity where I was ready, okay?” the Detective shared. “So, I don’t want you to beat yourself up about this.”

Ruidoso Police says Amezquita is no longer employed with the department. The agency does plan to file a disciplinary report with the state’s Law Enforcement Certification Board. That could result in the former officer losing his police certification.

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