Newly released police body-camera footage is shedding new light on a 2024 Santa Fe crash involving one of New Mexico’s most powerful lawmakers — including the revelation that Senate President Pro Tempore Mimi Stewart called the Governor’s Office after striking a pedestrian and told responding officers that New Mexico State Police were on the way because she was a state senator.
The Jan. 16, 2024 crash happened at Bishops Lodge Road and Paseo de Peralta, shortly after Stewart, an Albuquerque Democrat, left a legislative reception at the governor’s mansion.
According to the Santa Fe police crash report, Stewart was making a right turn onto Paseo de Peralta when her vehicle ran over the foot of pedestrian Jonathan Richardson, who was in the crosswalk. Court records later cited in news reports said Richardson suffered multiple fractures.
The incident attracted little public attention at the time because Stewart was not cited or charged. But newly released lapel footage obtained by the Santa Fe New Mexican through a public records request shows what happened in the minutes after the collision — and the unusual role the Governor’s Office played in summoning State Police.
‘I called the Governor’s Office’
The video shows Stewart quickly identifying herself to responding Santa Fe officers.
At one point, she told an officer:
“I’m the president of the state Senate, and they’re calling the state police to come down here so I can go home.”
The officer appeared confused.
“You’re the president of what?” he asked.
“Of the state Senate,” Stewart replied.
Later, another officer asked whether Stewart herself had requested State Police.
“I called the Governor’s Office,” she responded.
According to Stewart’s spokesman, she contacted Diego Arencón, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s deputy chief of staff, and asked him to alert New Mexico State Police. Someone else at the scene contacted local police.
One Santa Fe officer later called his supervisor and explained that Stewart had told him she reached out to the Governor’s Office because she wanted State Police involved.
The body-camera footage also shows Stewart saying:
“State police are supposed to be coming because I’m a state senator.”
Despite that statement, Santa Fe police ultimately handled the investigation. A State Police officer arrived only after Stewart had already been released from the scene. N.M. Sentinel
State Police: No special policy for lawmakers
Stewart later defended her decision to contact the Governor’s Office, saying State Police are “routinely involved in incidents involving legislators.”
“I didn’t receive special treatment, nor did I ask for or expect any,” Stewart said in a statement.
But KOB reported that New Mexico State Police said there is no policy requiring State Police to exclusively handle crashes or other cases involving state legislators.
That distinction immediately fueled criticism from Republicans, who argued the episode raises questions about whether ordinary citizens would think to call the Governor’s Office after injuring a pedestrian.
Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer, R-Farmington, accused Stewart of invoking her powerful position during a police investigation.
“If you hit a pedestrian with your car and broke his foot, could you tell the officers how powerful you are, say you’ve called the Governor’s Office, and be sent home with no citation?” Sharer said.
“Do everyday New Mexicans have that option? Of course not.”
Sharer characterized the incident as evidence of what he called a culture in which political connections can create the appearance of preferential treatment. Grant County Beat
Officers say they could not determine fault
Despite the new scrutiny, the body-camera footage does not show police covering up the crash.
Santa Fe police officers spent time examining the traffic signals at the intersection because Stewart and Richardson gave conflicting accounts about who had the right of way.
Stewart said she had a green light and never saw Richardson before striking him.
Richardson, meanwhile, was adamant that the pedestrian signal had given him permission to cross.
Asked by an officer whether he thought he had the right of way, Richardson reportedly responded:
“No, I know I had the right of way.”
Police said the intersection created uncertainty because the pedestrian signal could alternate while vehicles had a green light.
Interim Santa Fe Police Chief Ben Valdez later said Stewart’s political position had “no bearing” on the officer’s decision not to cite her. According to Valdez, the officer determined he could not establish whether Richardson had entered the roadway legally, and also believed the pedestrian appeared intoxicated.
No citation was issued, and no criminal charges were filed. The 2024 incident was also not considered a hit-and-run because Stewart remained at the scene until police completed their work. N.M. Sentinel
Richardson later filed a civil lawsuit seeking damages for medical expenses, lost income, emotional distress, and other alleged losses. Stewart’s attorney has said the case was ultimately resolved by her insurer without an admission of liability. N.M. Sentinel
Stewart had just left governor’s mansion event
The video also confirms Stewart told officers she had just come from the governor’s mansion.
The crash occurred on the opening night of the 2024 legislative session, when Lujan Grisham hosted a reception for lawmakers after delivering her State of the State address.
Stewart told an officer she had not been drinking alcohol.
“I don’t drink anymore,” she said, adding that she had consumed “a glass of water.”
The point carries additional significance because Stewart pleaded guilty to DWI in 1999 while serving in the state House.
There has been no public evidence that Stewart was impaired during the 2024 crash.
Political fallout grows two years later
The accident itself happened more than two years ago, but its political impact has accelerated only recently after video and records began circulating publicly.
Republicans have used the incident to accuse Stewart of receiving special treatment, while Stewart and Senate Democrats maintain that Santa Fe police independently handled the scene and that she simply contacted the Governor’s Office to alert State Police.
The footage does establish several facts that were not widely known when the crash happened: Stewart called the Governor’s Office, repeatedly identified herself as a state senator, said State Police were coming because of her position, and told one officer that State Police would take over so she could go home.
What the video does not establish is that Santa Fe police altered their decision because of her political status.
That leaves the central controversy less about whether the crash was secretly covered up — the footage does not support that claim — and more about a different question raised by Sharer and other critics:
Why did one of the state’s most powerful elected officials believe the Governor’s Office needed to be involved in an otherwise routine traffic investigation in the first place?