A state review in New Mexico has found the former Albuquerque police chief may have violated city and state ethics rules by influencing a contract to buy police body cameras.
State Auditor Timothy Keller’s report says former Chief Ray Schultz and his underlings gave Taser International an unfair advantage to win the $1.95 million contract in 2013 by circumventing the competitive bidding process.
Keller cited an email sent by Schultz to a salesman at Scottsdale-based Taser assuring the company the deal was "greased."
The auditor is referring the findings of the year-long review to state and local prosecutors to determine if Schultz — who is now assistant police chief in Memorial Villages, Texas — or anyone else should face criminal charges.
But Keller says in the report he believes there were substantial violations of conflict-of-interest laws.
Both Schultz and Taser have denied any wrongdoing.