On June 2nd David Correia, a professor of American Studies at the University of New Mexico was arrested with 12 others while protesting police violence at the Mayor’s office in Albuquerque, New Mexico. While everyone else was charged with trespassing, Dr.  Correia was charged with a felony for allegedly assaulting a peace officer. Eyewitness accounts of the incident, including video evidence, support Dr. Correia’s innocence. On June 3rd, the University of New Mexico issued a statement on his arrest. In that statement University administration said they would be monitoring Dr. Correia’s actions and suggested that he could face disciplinary action and potential dismissal from the University. We are troubled by the response from the University of New Mexico and the Albuquerque Police Department. This petition is an attempt to protect Dr. Correia from disciplinary action and further retaliation for his activism on the issue of police brutality. Show your support of Dr. Correia and those fighting police brutality by signing the letter at the bottom of the page. 

For additional information see the following:

Official statements from University of New Mexico:

http://news.unm.edu/newsmedia/advisories/unm-statement-regarding-the-arrest-of-assistant-professor-david-correia

http://provost.unm.edu/communique/communique_pdf/2014/communique-14-may-2014.pdf

Public speeches and scholarship by Dr. Correia on police violence in Albuquerque:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uATunXWiis

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2014/04/13/everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-department-of-justice-report-on-apd-violence-a-readers-guide/

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2014/05/02/justice-for-jonathan-mitchell-a-photo-essay/

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2013/03/01/albuquerque-police-department-killings-continue/

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/us-doj-to-investigate-albuquerque-police-department/

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2014/05/08/democracy-in-action/

Statements of support:

The AAG Letter of Support:  https://lajicarita.files.wordpress.com/2014/07/bqxjrxfcaaenuk5-jpg-large.jpeg

The AAUP Letter of Support: http://lajicarita.files.wordpress.com/2014/06/aaup-letter-1.jpg

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2014/06/06/in-defense-of-david-correia/

http://lajicarita.wordpress.com/2014/06/18/bob-franks-war-on-free-speech/

Videos of the protest:

http://photographyisnotacrime.com/2014/06/02/breaking-arrests-albuquerque-mayors-office/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gX9T7QW8_8Q

Additional reports on APD violence:

http://alibi.com/feature/46243/Life-and-Death-and-APD.html

http://www.justice.gov/crt/about/spl/documents/apd_findings_4-10-14.pdf