Lynch said later in an interview: "The question is, legally, was the victim really afraid? Did the person who threatened it have the ability to do so? I can tell you he was scared."
Worth denies any of that occurred.
Lynch said she went to the Police Department immediately after the Dec. 3 meeting with the mayor and asked for a blank complaint to report the incident with the man with the crutch. After waiting a week without getting a form, she said, she faxed the man's statement to Deputy Police Chief Abram Anaya and Coss.
Mayor rides along
Coss said he's ridden a bike on patrol with Worth and saw Worth work effectively to clear up to five drunken homeless people near the Railyard Park playground during the daytime.
"I saw a young family trying to play with their kids in this great new playground, next to five guys getting drunk," Coss said.
After Worth broke the group up and arrested one of the men, Coss said: "Three people came out of offices near there and said 'God bless you, Officer Worth. You make this area livable.' The homeless guy we arrested hates him (Worth), but the people around there love him."
The meeting at the Mayor's Office earlier this month was held at the request of Stephen Fox, a downtown art gallery operator who said he speaks frequently with homeless people in Santa Fe.
Anaya said at the meeting that, after Worth patrolled the Santa Fe Farmer's Market at the Railyard one weekend, his office received calls lauding Worth's work and asking if he could continue policing the market.
Court cases
During Worth's time in Santa Fe, two requests for restraining orders have been filed against him, but a judge dismissed one and the complainant dropped the other. Worth has also been named in a lawsuit over a Santa Fe arrest that was also dismissed. In a case from Hobbs where he formerly worked, the city paid a small amount to settle after two mistrials.
Here are details:
à ‚¬ Donovan Shouldis, who was indicted on murder charges in 2001 and was ultimately sentenced to probation on a lesser charge, filed for a restraining order in 2008 that said Worth "constantly stalks me, threatens me and harasses me." A judge denied the request.
à ‚¬ A restraining order was sought in 2005 by Michelle Jinich, who alleged that Worth "has intimidated me with threats of being arrested for not doing nothing at all" and had discriminated against her for "gender-identity.'" In a 2003 feature on Jinich in the Santa Fe Reporter, she identified herself as a transsexual and said she had been homeless. Along with her restraining order request, she filed a handwritten petition with signatures from seven others, including one with the nickname "the unlucky Messiah," who said they had also been harassed by Worth on the downtown Plaza. Jinich had the case dismissed after speaking with Worth's supervisor, according to documents.
à ‚¬ Priscilla Maez sued Worth in 2004, alleging several counts, including excessive force and false imprisonment, after he entered her hair salon on Cerrillos Road and interrupted her cutting a client's hair by grabbing her hands and handcuffing her, then escorting her outside and placing her under arrest because she could not immediately produce identification, according to her complaint. That apparently occurred because Worth wanted to question Maez about her husband. Maez and Worth agreed to a voluntary dismissal in federal court, documents show.
à ‚¬ Worth formerly worked for the Hobbs Police Department. A lawsuit filed by a man whom Worth shot in what police said was an undercover drug deal gone wrong was settled in 2000 by the city after two juries deadlocked over the case. The plaintiff accepted a small amount -- $7,500, plus $1,600 in court costs and $9,100 in attorney fees. Worth said at the time that he fired in self-defense as the plaintiff, who was convicted of aggravated battery on a police officer and two counts of drug trafficking, tried to run over him with a car.
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