Woman files lawsuits against RRPD, city for alleged excessive force in 2021 arrest

A Rio Rancho woman is suing the city of Rio Rancho, the Rio Rancho Police Department and two officers involved in her case in federal court, alleging police used excessive force and wrongfully arrested her in February 2021. The federal lawsuit was filed last week by Rachel Archuleta, according to her lawyer, Ryan Villa.

Arrest

Archuleta, 41, of Rio Rancho, was arrested Feb. 17, 2021, for battery upon a peace officer and two counts of resisting arrest at a residence on Spring Road.

According to the criminal complaint filed by Officer Matthew Phelps, officers responded to a domestic dispute call in which an unknown caller requested law enforcement, then hung up without providing additional information.

When officers arrived, they knocked at the front door but there was no answer. They heard arguing in the front room of the house, so they made announcements, called the original caller and knocked on the room’s window. Archuleta responded, saying she would not answer the door. There was no response from the man with her.

Officers then entered through the door in the open garage, which was unlocked. Sgt. James LaPorte arrived before they entered and consulted with Lt. Joel Holt. They entered the the home based on the information they had, including that the officers noted they could still hear the arguing when they entered. Officers made announcements for the subjects to exit the room.

Archuleta demanded that officers leave the residence and said she wouldn’t leave the room. The man remained silent. Officers entered the room despite her demands.

When they got into the room, they saw the man was sitting on the bed while Archuleta continued to yell at officers. She directed her attention to one of the officers when he motioned for the man to leave the room. Archuleta argued that the officers had no right to be in her house and that officers were breaking the law by being there. The man remained silent and didn’t leave the room at that time. The sergeant entered and advised Archuleta to leave the room so they could speak with her in the hallway, and she refused. She still refused after they reiterated the command.

“Ms. Archuleta still refused to comply interfering with officers ability to investigate,” the complaint states.

LaPorte attempted to escort Archuleta by the arm, but she pulled away and sat on the bed next to the man, who still remained silent. Eventually they convinced him to leave the room.

Archuleta attempted to follow into the hallway, but the sergeant told her to stay in the room. The complaint notes state that at this time Archuleta struck the sergeant and retreated when he tried to restrain her.

The sergeant then instructed the other officers to place her in handcuffs. Phelps tried to detain her but she pulled her arm away to avoid being arrested. Phelps noted that his lapel camera became dislodged when she did this. Phelps then “escorted her to the floor.” She continued to struggle on the ground, and the officers forced her to her chest on the floor.

The complaint add that Archuleta complained of pain and said that the officers had broken her arm. EMS was dispatched, but Archuleta wasn’t transported at the time.

Lawsuits:

Villa says while EMS was provided and Archuleta was provided a sling at the time of her arrest, she elected to go to the doctor herself. That visit revealed her elbow had been fractured during the arrest.

“I am very concerned about the conduct of the Rio Rancho police in this case for a lot of reasons, but when they’re there for a domestic disturbance call, they are concerned that maybe there’s some violence or other criminal activity going on. When they come into the house and see Ms. Archuleta and her boyfriend and see that nobody is injured, no signs of violence, no property damage, no weapons … just a couple having an argument and they refuse to leave. In fact they escalate the situation and to the point where Ms. Archuleta is assaulted and suffers a fractured elbow,” Villa said.

This is not the first lawsuit filed by Archuleta in regard to her February 2021 arrest. Last year, a lawsuit claiming battery was filed in district court.

In the complaint filed by Archuleta in that case, she claims the officers had no right to enter her home as they didn’t have a warrant and they weren’t pursuing a suspect. She continues, saying there were no weapons, drugs or anything to cause suspicion in sight. Lastly, she says the officers used excessive force on her by breaking her arm. She claims that they grabbed her and slammed her to the ground contrary to the alleged “assist” to the ground that officers refer to in their report. Archuleta also calls out the city of Rio Rancho, saying the officers involved with her arrest could not have been properly trained.

In a response to Archuleta’s complaint, the city, RRPD and the officers deny that anything unlawful happened and state that the officers being sued have retired. They deny the claims forced entry and the excessive force.

Villa says this response is fairly typical when a response to a claim is filed. “In 20 years, I have never seen a defendant respond and say, ‘We’re guilty,'” he added.

Villa stated the federal lawsuit will have more in-depth claims besides the battery, including illegal entry, illegal arrest, excessive force and malicious prosecution.

“They charged her with the crimes only after she called the lieutenant to complain about the conduct and told him that she had a broken arm and was hiring a lawyer, weeks after this all happened,” he said.

The officers involved have retired, but Villa said that should not impact how the prosecution unfolds. He said it might just make it more difficult to reach them if they need to show up for trial.

“For a federal lawsuit, they have to be acting under the color of state law, and they were acting as police officers at the time. So what happens later doesn’t matter,” Villa added.

Villa stated in his years as a prosecutor he has not seen anything quite like this case but has seen excessive force and illegal entry cases. He says the lawsuit is warranted because Archuleta said that she didn’t want the police in her home.

“In our view, they retaliated against her for speaking out,” he said.

He added that it should have been obvious that there was no need for police to be there anymore after they confirmed everyone was OK.

The parties of the federal case have not been served yet, but Villa says they are working on summonses for the parties involved.

The city, when asked for comment, said, “The city has been actively litigating the circumstances and events related to the new federal lawsuit since February of 2023 in state court, and the state court case involves the same facts and circumstances. There is a detailed record of the city’s filings in the state case, and at the time of this email, I do not believe the city or its retained outside counsel has been served with the federal lawsuit. The city does not comment on any pending litigation,” via Communications Officer Jaley Turpen.

The city and RRPD are also in the middle of litigation from the wrongful death lawsuit filed on behalf of John Paul Romero last year. Both the city and police department were summoned in January.