December 21, 2020 Michele Williams thought one day she would apply for the position of police chief and maybe even get selected for the job. She had already climbed her way through the ranks in the Santa Fe Police Department during her nearly 20 years on the force to become a field lieutenant—the highest ranking female officer on the roster from that time until her retirement this past spring. Yet, for the last eight months of her employment, she was not involved in law enforcement activities, included in staff meetings or even listed on the roster. Williams alleges that's because when she complained about suspected timecard fraud by a commanding officer, she was moved to a desk job that didn't exist before she was assigned to it. Later, when Williams suspected problems in accounting for weapons collected in a gun-violence-prevention program, she was targeted with an investigation into her own conduct, according to documents submitted to the court as exhibits.