Jun. 4—Santa Fe police Deputy Chief Matthew Champlin testified Tuesday a protest in October 2020 that ended with the destruction of the Plaza obelisk was “one of the biggest things in my career.”

He was the commanding officer that day but wasn’t present on the Plaza when the crowd at an Indigenous Peoples Day rally began to overwhelm a handful of officers monitoring the scene.

Champlin was questioned about the timeline of the police response to the event on the fourth day of a jury trial in a civil case brought by a man who was arrested at the rally before the obelisk fell.

Dylan Wrobel, 30, alleges he was assaulted by police at the Oct. 12, 2020, event and then wrongfully charged and arrested. He sued the city of Santa Fe, the police department, three officers and Mayor Alan Webber, seeking an unspecified damages.

His attorney, Eric Sirotkin, grilled Champlin for more than an hour Tuesday over how and when he learned of alleged violence on the Plaza and when, exactly, he deployed the police department’s “emergency response team.”

“You weren’t part of the team of officers making false accusations of violence on that day?” Sirotkin asked.

Champlin responded, “No.”

Attorneys representing the city and police have argued officers had “probable cause” to arrest Wrobel and charge him with battery on a police officer, resisting arrest and criminal trespass. An internal affairs review found the use of force against Wrobel — videos show one officer tackled him and another sprayed pepper gas in his face — was justified.

Champlin said he had been told his officers were “attacked” by protesters around 12:45 or 12:50 p.m., and he made a decision for a “tactical removal” of officers between 12:55 and 1:02 p.m. He received a phone call from Webber at 12:53, he said.

Sirotkin pointed to three other officers’ reports — written days or weeks after the incident — stating Champlin told them about violence on the Plaza sooner; Champlin said they had their timeline wrong.

Champlin, who was not in Santa Fe at the time, handled the incident via phone calls. He wrote in his report, “I was informed protestors attacked multiple officers and kicked, punched and choked the officers on scene.”

Sirotkin argued those reports were exaggerated or falsified, noting injury reports for officers were never approved by Chief Paul Joye and a use-of-force report stated no officers were injured in the incident.

Judge Kathleen McGarry Ellenwood read a question from a juror: Did Webber take part in making the call for officers to stand down while protesters destroyed the obelisk?

“Absolutely not,” Champlin said. “It was the most challenging decision of my career, but it was mine alone.”

The trial is scheduled to continue Wednesday with closing arguments from both parties followed by jury deliberations.

Jurors will consider whether to find the defendants liable for damages to Wrobel and potentially how much to award him in compensation.