An Albuquerque police officer investigating an incident between mayoral candidate Daniel Chavez and his former staffer found probable cause to charge him with battery, according to court documents filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court and obtained by City Desk ABQ.
The criminal complaint, filed in July, alleges that Daniel Chavez inappropriately touched a person without consent while leaving a candidate meeting with the board of the New Mexico Restaurant Association on June 19. The charge is a misdemeanor. The case was discovered as a part of City Desk’s research for profiles of mayoral candidates and does not appear to have been previously reported or disclosed by Chavez in news interviews or public forums, although the case has been pending in court since July.
According to the complaint, the alleged victim reported that Chavez “grabbed and patted their buttocks twice without consent” as they were walking down a hallway as the two were leaving the meeting. The complaint states the victim emphasized the contact was unwelcome and non-consensual.
“The claims made are unequivocally false and we will be fighting them,” Chavez told City Desk ABQ by email Tuesday afternoon…