Dispatch logs dispute cop's crash claim

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The police sergeant who claims he was chasing a drunken driver when he broadsided a car killing a woman never reported spotting the suspect or engaging his emergency equipment, dispatch logs released to KRQE News 13 show.

At about 1:30 a.m. Sunday Sgt. Adam Casaus called into dispatch that he had just gotten into a 10-45, a crash with injuries, at the intersection of Paseo Del Norte NW and Eagle Ranch Road.

• Sgt. Casaus: S16 PD has been involved in a 45. I'll be at a...uh...Paseo and Coors just west.
• Dispatch: 10-4, Paseo and Coors just west. I need units at Paseo and Coors.
• Sgt. Casaus: I have a laceration to my head and some chest pain. I'm not sure about the other car.

Casaus’ police SUV had slammed into a Honda CRV carrying two sisters. Ashley Browder, 21, a member of the National Guard, died at the scene. Her sister Lindsey Browder, 19, who was driving, was rushed to the hospital with a broken spine.

Casaus has been assigned to desk duty. Bernalillo County Sheriffs Department deputies are investigating the crash to avoid a conflict of interest.

Right after the crash Casaus claimed he was in pursuit of a DWI suspect .

"It sounds like the sergeant was trying to locate a drunk driver," sheriff's Capt. Jessica Taylor said at the time.

Investigators said Casaus claims he had his lights and siren on.

The dispatch logs requested by News 13 show Casaus going on call after call starting around 4 p.m.  Then at 9:50 p.m. he cleared what appears to be his final call.  His shift was over at 11 p.m.

APD would not confirm whether Casaus was on overtime. However, he's not heard from again until 1:30 a.m. when he calls in his own crash.

Dispatch logs show Casaus never called in that he was in pursuit of a DWI suspect. They also show dispatchers never broadcast a lookout for a possible drunken driver in that area.

Also, Casaus was not listed on the DWI saturation patrol log for that night.

It appears only Casaus may know what he was doing before the crash.

Sources told News 13 Casaus' wife Tanya is a dispatcher for the sheriff's department. A department spokesperson would not confirm that, but the county's website shows there is a dispatcher named Tanya Casaus.

News 13 wanted to know if this could be a conflict of interest for sheriff's investigators, but again the department did not comment.

Investigators drew blood from Lindsey Browder to see if she was drunk or high at the time of the crash. Those test results could take weeks.

Neither BCSD nor APD could say if Casaus' blood is being tested, too.