Eugene Rodella has been fired by the Española Police Department for his alleged involvement in an Oct. 7 attack on a tattoo parlor and its employees.
Rodella, 40, of Española, was terminated effective 5 p.m. Dec. 9, Deputy Chief Raye Byford said. State Police have not made arrests in the investigation and the District Attorney’s Office has not filed charges. Byford said last week the Department had concluded an internal investigation and served Rodella with a notice of pending termination.
“There’s one reason we conduct an internal investigation, and that’s to determine if there was a departmental violation,” Byford said.
Byford declined to elaborate at length on what violations Rodella committed.
“The main reason was conduct unbecoming (of a police officer),” Byford said. “Without getting into too much detail, his conduct and behavior that we do know of at the scene did not reflect well on the city and the Department.”
Eugene and his brother Gabriel Rodella are under investigation by State Police for allegedly ransacking Dragon’s Lair Hookah Lounge and Defiant Artists Tattoo Parlor and attacking two employees the evening of Oct. 7, according to police.
Española Detective Bryan Martinez witnessed the attack while getting a tattoo. According to 911 tapes and a police report, he is overheard telling Eugene Rodella to stop and questioning what he was doing.
No arrests were made the night of the incident and no charges have been filed.
Rodella is at risk of permanently losing his authority to carry a badge or make arrests. State Law Enforcement Academy Director Arthur Ortiz said he met Dec. 10 with Rodella and his lawyer to hear Rodella’s version of the fight before proceeding with disciplinary sanctions.
Ortiz said Monday he was in the process of verifying Rodella’s statements and planned to contact him that evening to propose disciplinary sanctions. Those terms could range from dismissing claims against Rodella to permanently revoking his certification, Ortiz said.
“I can tell you right now I’m not going to dismiss it,” he said. “(Rodella)’s going to be held accountable for his actions.”
Ortiz said he would not make public the terms he is offering Rodella until he receives a response from Rodella’s lawyer. If Rodella rejects the terms, his case would go before a hearing officer sometime early next year and potentially before the Board for a final hearing by March, Ortiz said.
The Board had put Rodella on one year of probation ending March 2010 after investigating allegations that he battered his wife last year.