Former NMSP sergeant remains employed as school police officer after criminal charge was dropped
By Roger M. Rael
The Raton Range
LAS VEGAS, N.M. — A $1.5 million settlement between the state of New Mexico and a Las Vegas woman who accused a former state police sergeant of sexually assaulting her is renewing questions about the abandoned criminal case and the officer’s continued employment in school policing.
The woman alleged that Kevin B. Keiner, then an on-duty New Mexico State Police sergeant, assaulted her in February 2023 after she called him for help following an altercation with her brother. She said she expected Keiner, whom she knew, to take her to the Las Vegas Police Department so she could report the fight. Instead, she alleged, he drove her to his home, where the sexual assault occurred.
KOB 4 reported that the woman’s account was captured on police body-camera footage and that she provided officers with a recording she said was made after the alleged assault.
The New Mexico Department of Public Safety confirmed in a Feb. 15, 2023, news release that Las Vegas police presented the case to the Fourth Judicial District Attorney’s Office and obtained a warrant charging Keiner with second-degree criminal sexual penetration. State Police placed him on administrative leave and opened an internal investigation.
Prosecutors later dropped the criminal charge, saying more investigation was needed. No charge has been refiled, according to KOB. Keiner has not been convicted of a crime, and the civil settlement does not constitute an admission of wrongdoing.
Federal court records show the woman filed a civil-rights lawsuit in 2024 against Keiner, the Department of Public Safety and New Mexico State Police. A federal judge denied one of Keiner’s motions for partial summary judgment earlier this year, finding disputed facts that could not be resolved without further proceedings. The state agreed to the settlement this month.
Keiner later joined the Albuquerque Public Schools Police Department. APS told KOB this week that he remains employed as a patrol officer. The district said he passed the state-required background check before being hired and currently holds an active law enforcement certification.
However, the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board voted unanimously in September 2024 to accept a 90-day suspension of Keiner’s certification in misconduct case No. 23-005. KOB reported that the disciplinary case resulted from the same incident.
The woman’s attorney has called for prosecutors to review the case again. The settlement ends the civil dispute but leaves two public questions unanswered: Why did the criminal investigation stall, and has APS reconsidered placing Keiner in a position responsible for school safety?
Sources: KOB 4, New Mexico Department of Public Safety, New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board and federal court records.
Sources: KOB’s current settlement report, official NMDPS statement, official certification-board minutes, and federal court ruling.
