"The state doesn't pick and choose witnesses," DA Angela "Spence" Pacheco said Thursday.
The day before, a Santa Fe woman was acquitted of a DWI charge after she testified that Lopez propositioned her in April during her drunken-driving arrest.
Pacheco said that in most DWI cases, the only witnesses are the arresting officers.
"If he weren't to testify, then there's no cases," she said.
According to The Associated Press, DWI defendant Elizabeth Enriquez testified Wednesday that Lopez told her she made his patrol car smell good.
And the married woman said the officer asked if she ever thought about having someone on the side to "play with."
Earlier this summer, a security camera photographed a uniformed Lopez having sex with a woman on the hood of a small unmarked car at Santa Fe County-owned La Bajada Ranch near La Cienega, south of town.
State Police officials wouldn't say if the officer in the pictures was on duty. The camera was intended to catch vandals or burglars.
Lopez testified in the Wednesday DWI case. But he wasn't asked about the flirting allegations made by Enriquez and didn't talk to reporters outside the courtroom.
The Journal last month broke the story of the existence of security camera images of Lopez having sex on the car hood with a partially clad woman. The pictures were released under a public records request by the Journal and at least one other news organization.
TV stations broadcast the web-posted the photos, and the pictures went viral around the world, becoming fodder for bloggers and late-night comedians.
State Police have never identified the officer in the pictures, calling the case a pending personnel matter. But the Journal has learned it is Lopez, who in 2010 was named State Police's "Officer of the Year" for the agency's District One.
State Police spokesman Sgt. Tim Johnson said over the weekend that Lopez is no longer with the Department of Public Safety, but he hasn't confirmed reports that Lopez has been fired.
Other cases
Johnson confirmed Thursday that State Police Deputy Chief Pete Kassetas has made an inquiry to Pacheco to get "an accurate count of how many cases (Lopez) has."
Pacheco said the District Attorney's Office does not keep track of cases based on who the charging officer is, but estimates Lopez has "maybe a couple dozen DWI cases" pending, as well as some domestic violence cases. Pacheco said there are about five female DWI defendants.
Pacheco said her office "is obligated to go forward with those cases" with Lopez as a witness. "From our perspective, we're going to continue to put him on the stand," she said.
She said she's not concerned with whatever defendants say in court or with how jurors view the former officer's credibility.
"We won't know what a defendant will say until we're in court," Pacheco said.
Pacheco also said that the prosecutor who handled the Enriquez DWI case informed her that the jurors' decision to acquit Wednesday had nothing to do with Enriquez's testimony about Lopez's alleged flirting.
"They said that they didn't realize it was Bert Lopez," Pacheco said. "They said their decision was based on the (police dashboard) video, and it was their impression that she did not appear intoxicated."
Spokesman Johnson said Enriquez has never filed a complaint with the Department of Public Safety.
"It also shows his character that he showed up to testify," Johnson said of Lopez.
Sept. 8, 2011 " Fired State Police Officer Accused of Propositioning Suspect
By The Associated Press
A Santa Fe woman says the New Mexico State Police officer caught on video having sex on the hood of his patrol car propositioned her in April during her drunken-driving arrest.
Elizabeth Enriquez testified Wednesday in Santa Fe that officer Bert Lopez told her she made his patrol car smell good. And the married woman said the officer asked if she ever thought about having someone on the side to "play with."
Earlier this summer, a security camera taped a uniformed Lopez having sex with a woman on his patrol car on remote county-owned property. Police officials wouldn't say if Lopez was on duty but noted the woman wasn't connected to any of his cases.
Lopez was fired last week after the video went viral.
He testified in the DWI case. But he wasn't asked about the allegations and didn't talk to reporters outside the courtroom.
The woman was acquitted of DWI.
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