Current:Home > Finance‘No stone unturned:' Albuquerque police chief vows thorough investigation of corruption allegations -TradeWisdom
‘No stone unturned:' Albuquerque police chief vows thorough investigation of corruption allegations
View
Date:2025-04-16 04:58:31
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The police chief in New Mexico’s largest city vowed Friday that the Albuquerque Police Department will “leave no stone unturned” as it moves ahead with an internal investigation into allegations of possible corruption within the Driving While Intoxicated unit.
Chief Harold Medina declined to give many specifics during a news conference Friday, saying he didn’t want to compromise the work being done by his agency or the FBI. Still, he tried to ease public concerns by saying the department has been working with the district attorney’s office to streamline the process for flagging when officers fail to appear in court for those cases in which a motorist is suspected of driving drunk or impaired.
Medina shared a timeline of DWI cases dating back to 2015. He said changes in how the department and prosecutors handle such cases has led to fewer dismissals overall in the last two years. In 2019, the dismissal rate topped 43%. Last year, only 3% of the 1,027 cases filed were dismissed.
The chief said he, like other officers, has worked hundreds of DWI cases over his career and that it has long been a tactic of defense attorneys to seek delays with the hope of officers eventually not being able to show up in court.
While refusing to point fingers at the district attorney’s office or any of his own officers, he said the overall system still needs fixing.
“Systems that struggle, systems that have loopholes are really open to corruption,” he said, referencing a conversation he had with fellow officers over breakfast in which they shared concerns and talked about what the department will be reviewing as it moves forward.
“We’re dealing with stuff that we anticipate started decades ago, and we’ve done a lot of things that have got us to this point,” Medina said. “But we will continue to dig and look and leave no stone unturned and make sure that we get to the bottom of this.”
As part of the federal investigation, search warrants were recently served at the homes of officers who had worked with the DWI unit and a prominent local defense attorney who had served for years as chairman of the state Public Defender Commission. Those warrants remain sealed and federal officials have refused to discuss the specifics of the case.
Medina confirmed five officers remain on administrative leave pending Albuquerque’s internal investigation. No one has been charged or arrested.
According to documents obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, the probe began following a stop by one of the officers last August in which he allegedly told the driver that he should contact a certain attorney, who, if hired, would ensure that no case would be filed in court by the police department.
Medina said his staff first heard vague allegations about possible corruption within the DWI unit more than two years ago and learned last year that federal authorities were looking into the claims. He said he didn’t want to come forward then and risk compromising either investigation.
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller last week issued a statement saying, if true, the allegations are a disgrace and erode faith in law enforcement. Some members of the City Council also sent the chief a letter, demanding answers and requesting that he appear at the next council meeting.
Medina said Friday he would be willing to do so but that he’s limited from sharing specific and confidential information. He sent the council a letter Thursday that provided details about how such cases move through the court, required pre-trial interviews, policies about officers appearing in court and the disciplinary process for officers who miss court dates.
The letter cites four cases in 2023 in which officers were disciplined for failing to appear at required pretrial interviews, court hearings or trial settings.
Medina said the police force recently gained access to court system data and is now working to automate tracking of officer appearances.
veryGood! (43)
Related
- Angelina Jolie nearly fainted making Maria Callas movie: 'My body wasn’t strong enough'
- Stock market today: Japan’s Nikkei leads Asian market retreat as Middle East tensions flare
- Tennessee Volkswagen workers to vote on union membership in test of UAW’s plan to expand its ranks
- Tori Spelling reveals she tried Ozempic, Mounjaro after birth of fifth child
- Senate begins final push to expand Social Security benefits for millions of people
- Dubious claims about voting flyers at a migrant camp show how the border is inflaming US politics
- Mandisa, Grammy-winning singer and ‘American Idol’ alum, dies at 47
- Best lines from each of Taylor Swift's 'Tortured Poets Department' songs, Pt. 1 & 2
- Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
- A convicted rapist is charged with murder in the killing of a Connecticut visiting nurse
Ranking
- Macy's says employee who allegedly hid $150 million in expenses had no major 'impact'
- Group caught on camera pulling bear cubs from tree to take pictures with them
- Oklahoma City bombing still ‘heavy in our hearts’ on 29th anniversary, federal official says
- Paris Hilton Shares First Photos of Her and Carter Reum's Baby Girl London
- 'We're reborn!' Gazans express joy at returning home to north
- San Jose Sharks have best NHL draft lottery odds after historically bad season
- Hilarie Burton Morgan champions forgotten cases in second season of True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here
- BNSF Railway says it didn’t know about asbestos that’s killed hundreds in Montana town
Recommendation
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
Taylor Swift breaks our hearts again with Track 5 ‘So Long, London'
Cannabis seizures at checkpoints by US-Mexico border frustrates state-authorized pot industry
Utah and Florida clinch final two spots at NCAA championship, denying Oklahoma’s bid for three-peat
Meta donates $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund
Scientists trying to protect wildlife from extinction as climate change raises risk to species around the globe
Tsunami possible in Indonesia as Ruang volcano experiences explosive eruption, prompting evacuations
Start of Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial is delayed a week to mid-May