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	Injured Bishop Photos at Center of Dispute By Felicia Fonseca Santa Fe New Mexican August 9, 2007 http://www.freenewmexican.com/news/66319.html Albuquerque — The city of Gallup is asking a judge to determine whether photographs taken by police of Roman Catholic Bishop Donald Pelotte — after he badly injured himself in an apparent fall at his home — are a matter of public record. City officials fear they'll be sued for invasion of privacy if they release the photos but could be sued for violating state open records laws if they keep them from the public. So on Tuesday, the city filed a complaint in state District Court in McKinley County, asking a judge to determine the photos' fate. "Once a judge rules, I think we're protected, and we don't have to worry about being sued by anyone," Gallup City Attorney George Zozeliski said Wednesday. "That's why we did this; we didn't know what to do." A Gallup police officer took the photos of Pelotte on July 23 at Rehoboth-McKinley Christian Hospital, where the bishop was taken for injuries he sustained during the fall. Pelotte was "heavily bruised across the face, along the chest area, both arms, the knuckles, the legs and the feet," according to a police report. At least two media outlets have requested access to the photos. But the city contends the pictures are not part of the public record because they were taken after the police investigation into the incident ceased and because they were shot at a hospital. Luis Stelzner, an attorney for the diocese, said turning over the photographs of the bishop would be a violation of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPPA, because Pelotte was "barely conscious" at the time they were taken and was not able to give his consent. "Any publication of those photographs ... would be a violation of Bishop Pelotte's right to privacy and would serve no purpose but to sensationalize what is a very private matter," he said in court documents. But the head of a government watchdog group said Pelotte is a "figure of great interest to a lot of people," and he believes the records are public. The photographs taken by police are part of the original incident report, said Bob Johnson, executive director of the New Mexico Foundation for Open Government. "Whether they open an investigation or not, I think it's public record," he said. If anyone violated the law, Johnson said, it was the hospital in allowing police to photograph Pelotte. Sgt. Erin Toadlena-Pablo, a Gallup police spokeswoman, said the July 23 incident is not under investigation because of Pelotte's insistence that a fall caused the injuries. Some have speculated Pelotte may have been assaulted because of the extent of his injuries. She said police took photos of Pelotte in case he changes his mind as to the cause of his injuries, which could warrant a police investigation. Police have not received any new information on the incident, she said. Pelotte was discharged from a Phoenix hospital Wednesday, but a spokeswoman at John C. Lincoln Hospital said she did not know where Pelotte had been taken. Diocese of Gallup officials declined to comment on the bishop's condition, and instead referred media to a blog on the diocese Web site, which said Pelotte was resting comfortably and awaiting the next phase of his treatment at the Phoenix hospital.
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