Gallup Police officer is fired

Copyright © 2008
Gallup Independent
By Phil Stake
Staff writer

GALLUP — The city of Gallup fired Gallup Police Officer Tammy Houghtaling, Monday, Dec. 1, for tampering with evidence.

“She was terminated on the grounds that she violated standard operating procedure in both handling of evidence and documentation,” City Attorney Dave Pederson said Thursday.

The district attorney’s office filed charges against Houghtaling Oct. 7 for allegedly tampering with evidence, a petty misdemeanor. However the charges were dropped Nov. 21. The undisclosed incident that spurred the charge traces back to April 2008, according to court records.

Pederson said the city found in its own investigation a preponderance of evidence to support the charge, which is enough to warrant termination.

Houghtaling has already entered the grievance procedure to refute the grounds for her dismissal, according to Gallup Police Association President Detective Harold Littlefield.