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The defense attorney in Al Unser Sr.'s misdemeanor trial in Metro Court this morning said Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz and Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White should be held in contempt of court for what he says was intimidating a witness.

Metro Judge Daniel Ramczyk denied attorney Charles Daniels' verbal request, but said Daniels could submit the request in writing after the trial concludes.

Daniels said he would. He wants the court to call in White and Schultz and ask "why they got together and started an internal affairs investigation on a witness in the middle of a trial."

The flap stems from testimony Thursday by Albuquerque police Officer Sam Costales, who told the jury that he thought county deputies overreacted during Unser's arrest Aug. 9.

"There was a right way of doing things and a rude and hateful way of doing things," Costales said. "I think they chose the latter."

He said deputies could have handled the 67-year-old former race car driver more gently as they forced him out of his car and onto the ground and then handcuffed him.

Costales' testimony caught the two chiefs by surprise. White said the first he heard of it was when a reporter called Thursday and asked whether he knew Costales was on the stand criticizing White's deputies.

White told the reporter he did not, then called Schultz, whose office is about 50 feet away, and put the same question to him. White said the chief had the same response - that he hadn't heard about Costales' observations.

"That was the extent of it," White said. "If that's intimidation of witnesses, well, I don't know what to say."

White said he doesn't know why Daniels would seek a contempt of court citation against him, in part because White was never quoted by the reporter, "but in this case, nothing surprises me."

"It's a very prominent, well-known family, so this is more about preserving a reputation," he said.

Schultz was at meetings this morning and not available for comment, but his spokesman, John Walsh, said he thought the chief had ordered an investigation into why Schultz had not heard about Costales' observations before Thursday.

If an APD officer witnesses another agency involved in questionable behavior, the officer would be expected to report it up the chain of command, Walsh said. Depending on the severity of the incident, it could easily rise to the chief's office, he said.

White said he, too, would expect to be informed if his deputies witnessed questionable activity by another agency.

"I'd expect them to report what they saw and what they planned to testify on," he said. "That didn't happen here."

Costales testified in court Thursday that he reported the incident to his lieutenant.

Defense attorney Robert McNeill said today every effort was made by the defense team to alert prosecutors they planned to call Costales, a 23-year APD veteran, as a witness, but that prosecutors never interviewed him.