Bernalillo County Jail Officer Accused of Overseeing Attacks on Mentally Ill Inmates

October 25. An officer at the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center is accused of orchestrating the beatings of two mentally ill inmates and spraying one man’s genitals with a mace over a two-week period in July.

Nathan Spiller, an MDC corrections officer, has been on paid administrative leave since the allegations were made public.

Bruce Davis and Jeffrey Sandoval, the inmates who brought charges against Spiller, are in a years-long cycle of incarceration and homelessness while struggling with mental health issues.

Several inmates involved in the alleged attacks have confirmed elements of the case against Spiller. His colleagues at the correctional facility said they saw no wrongdoing.

Davis, 66, and Sandoval, 61, told investigators they were denied medical treatment after the alleged incidents, despite complaints of injuries.

Joanna Sandoval, Jeffrey Sandoval’s mother, said the allegations, if true, are “terrifying.” She said her son has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and requires daily medication.

Relatives of Davis, who was found incompetent to stand trial in several minor cases, could not be located.

A detective with the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office investigated the alleged incidents and forwarded the case to the 2nd Judicial District Attorney’s Office for review and possible prosecution.

BCSO spokeswoman Jamie Gonzalez said prosecutors told their detective they could charge Spiller with aggravated battery “because the case is not a felony.”

Before issuing the subpoena, the detective was instructed to consult with the MDC “to make sure the actions of the suspect/officer were not what the MDC was trained to do,” she said. Gonzalez said the detective has requested access to some of the jail’s training materials, and “that process is ongoing.”

Spiller, who has not been charged, declined to comment for this article.

According to the BCSO incident report, “while reviewing the camera footage, several inmates were seen assaulting other inmates while under the supervision of Officer Spiller.”

The report, obtained by the Journal through a State Archives Inspection Act request, details three separate incidents involving Spiller between July 13 and July 27.

When a BCSO detective investigating the case tried to interview Spiller in early August, Spiller replied in a text message, “My attorney advises me not to interview you.”

MDC spokeswoman Candice Hopkins said Spiller remains on leave “pending the outcome of an internal investigation.” According to her, he was hired in November 2022.

The allegations are the latest controversy for the facility, which in the past few years has dealt with a number of deaths of inmates undergoing detoxification, a series of erroneous inmate releases, a previous warden who resigned under undisclosed circumstances and several employees who were fired or on vacation in various incidents, including a use of force incident that resulted in the death of an inmate.

Hopkins declined to answer several questions about the allegations against Spiller, citing an ongoing internal investigation into the case, which reportedly took place in a pod that houses inmates undergoing detoxification and those suffering from mental illness.

Complaints

According to the BCSO incident report:

On July 30, an MDC lieutenant told BCSO that Sandoval had filed a complaint against Spiller and supervisors had reviewed footage of the three incidents.

“Due to the fact that Supervising Police Officer Spiller was the lead police officer during each of these incidents, there were concerns that he may have authorized or orchestrated the two incidents involving inmates in the shower area,” the report said.

During the first incident on July 13, footage shows Spiller repeatedly pointing his mace at the food port of Davis’ cell. At one point, Davis, who was naked, tilted his genitalia toward the food port.

A few minutes later, Davis was having his genitals washed while other inmates passed by his door and appeared to be “laughing” at him. Davis told BCSO he used feces to write a vulgar message on the cell window, and Spiller became angry, telling him to “clean it with your mouth.”

BCSO said Davis told them Spiller then splashed his genitalia with a mace and “it hurt a lot.” An inmate, who also worked as an orderly in the pod, told BCSO he saw Spiller trying to hide his mace from the cell as he sprayed it.

On July 15, Spiller led Davis into the shower, and after Spiller left, two inmates were seen entering the shower with cleaning supplies. BCSO said Davis told them the two sprayed him with spray paint and hit him with a broom while they expressed frustration that he was “keeping them up at night.”

One of the inmates involved in the alleged attack told BCSO he “thought it was strange” that Spiller did not check on Davis for a half hour before the attack occurred and told him “not to say anything about it.”

On July 27, Spiller took Sandoval, handcuffed behind his back, to the shower and left the premises. Three inmates were seen entering the area and closing the curtain, then beating Sandoval with brooms for several minutes.

Sandoval told BCSO that Spiller left him handcuffed and he had to open the water with his nose and grab a bar of soap with his teeth. Sandoval said three inmates appeared and attacked him with brooms, after which Spiller said “something like teaching him a lesson.”

One of the inmates who attacked Sandoval told BCSO that Spiller said “if something happens … he won’t be able to hear” and during the previous attack on Davis told them to “teach (Davis) a lesson .”

The inmate told BCSO he believed Sandoval and Davis were targeted because they were “not all there” and wouldn’t be taken seriously. He said he was “not sure about Spiller’s tactics” but that Spiller “gets pretty worried when he has to use force.”

Two other inmates involved in the attacks told BCSO that they did what they did because Sandoval called them racial slurs, but that the incidents were instigated by Spiller.

Three of Spiller’s co-workers told BCSO they were unaware of the assaults and saw no wrongdoing, although one said Sandoval should have been handcuffed before showering and would not have used a mace to threaten Davis as Spiller did .

Johanna Sandoval said that she last saw her son a few weeks ago. He was stabilized with medication and living in an extended stay motel.

She said her son has struggled with mental health issues for 10 years and finding stable support or a facility for him to go to has been difficult. When things go badly, instead of ending up in a mental hospital like the often overcrowded University of New Mexico Hospital, he ends up in a cell.

Johanna Sandoval said that when her son calls from prison, he is often “really erratic” and she can tell he hasn’t been on his medication.

“For whatever reason, they incarcerate people who are mentally ill instead of putting them in an institution. And this is not the place for them. This is not really the case. And they don’t get their medication, and they don’t get the help they need, and then things get out of hand,” she said.