COURT
Former Albuquerque firefighter files federal suit against city
A judge last month dismissed Aden Heyman's state district court lawsuit
Published
A former Albuquerque firefighter acquitted of rape charges last year filed a federal lawsuit against the city this week, alleging he was wrongfully fired and seeking reinstatement to his job.
Aden Heyman, 48, alleges in the lawsuit that city officials fired him in 2023 "without a proper investigation" and then "publicly branded him a criminal through statements to the media."
The lawsuit, filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, seeks restoration to his post as a lieutenant for Albuquerque Fire Rescue or compensatory pay in lieu of reinstatement. It also seeks unspecified damages and back pay.
鈥淎n internal investigation determined the employee violated AFR policies," AFR spokesman Jason Fejer said Wednesday. "The city will respond to his allegations in court.鈥�
The city of Albuquerque is the only defendant named in the lawsuit.
A similar lawsuit Heyman filed last year in state district court was dismissed March 5 by 2nd Judicial District Judge Joshua Allison. That lawsuit alleged that city officials both wrongfully fired him and defamed him after the criminal allegations surfaced in 2023.
On July 8, a Bernalillo County jury acquitted Heyman and a second former firefighter, Anthony Martin, 47, following a two-week trial that hinged on the testimony of a woman who accused the men of raping her.
Prosecutors in January dropped criminal charges against a third former firefighter, Angel Portillo, 34, who also was charged in the same incident.
The alleged victim testified in the trial, telling jurors she drank alcohol until she blacked out, then found herself in Martin鈥檚 bedroom where two of the men raped her.
The men argued during the trial that the sex was consensual and that the woman lied about her behavior during the encounter.
The acquittals marked a dramatic ending to a case that rocked the city in July 2023 when the woman told Albuquerque police that she was raped by three AFR firefighters following a charity golf tournament.
Heyman, who served 12 years with AFR, and Portillo were both terminated in September 2023 after an internal investigation found they had violated policies, an AFR spokesman said at the time. Martin chose to retire with full benefits after the allegations surfaced.
Heyman alleges in the federal lawsuit that he was fired prior to any evidentiary hearing or judicial finding of wrongdoing. The city 鈥減ublicly branded him a criminal through statements to the media and the firefighting community, foreclosing his ability to find comparable employment,鈥� the suit alleges.
