Albuquerque Police Department

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Albuquerque Police Department
AbbreviationAPD
Motto"In step with our community"
Agency overview
Employees1100 sworn plus 460 unsworn (as of 2010)[citation needed]
Legal personalityGovernmental: Government agency
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionAlbuquerque, New Mexico, United States
Size181.3 sq mi (469.5 km2)
Population555,417 (metro total: 902,797) (as of 2012)[1]
Legal jurisdictionAs per operations jurisdiction
General nature
Operational structure
HeadquartersAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Agency executive
  • Gorden Eden, Chief[2]
Bureaus
3
  • Field Services Bureau
  • Support Services Bureau
  • Central Services Bureau
Facilities
Area Commands
6
  • Northwest
  • Southwest
  • Valley
  • Southeast
  • Northeast
  • Foothills
Helicopters1 - Air 1 Eurocopter EC120
Plane / Fixed Wings1 - Air 5 (Cessna 182)
Website
APD Website

The Albuquerque Police Department is the largest municipal police department in New Mexico, it is located in Bernalillo County. They have jurisdiction within the city limits, with anything outside of the city limits being considered the unincorporated area of Bernalillo County and governed by the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department. In September 2008 the US Department of Justice Bureau of Statistics recorded the Albuquerque Police Department as being the 49th largest police department in the United States.[3]

Rank structure

Title Insignia
Chief of Police
Deputy Chief
Commander
Lieutenant
Sergeant
Police Officer

History

In February 2014, Albuquerque, New Mexico Mayor Richard J. Berry selected Gorden Eden as APD's police chief. Before that, the police chief was Ray Schultz who stepped down as police chief after the federal government starting investigating APD's use of force.[4][5]

1973 Discrimination suit

In 1973, the Chicano Police Officer's Association of Albuquerque and twelve Albuquerque police officers sued the city in federal court, alleging that Hispanic-surnamed citizens were discriminated against in the hiring and promotion of police officers.[6] The lawsuit survived adverse testimony[7] and several motions to dismiss[8] and even went up to the Supreme Court of the United States[9] before being scheduled for trial in 1978.[10]

On May 15, 1978, the parties agreed to a stipulated judgment which required the city to pay $8,000 to Beserra and $8,000 to the Chicano Police Officer's Association and to meet an affirmative action goal of 34% Hispanic-surnamed individuals in the police department by July 1, 1981 and also to complete an affirmative action internal audit of the police department to verifiably validate the testing procedures for promotion. The department will also assign a Chicano police officer to the police academy; and expand department language and cultural awareness training.[10] After the settlement was approved, the lawyers for the Chicano Police Officer's Association asked for additional money from the city for attorney’s fees, and over the dissent of Chief Judge Seth, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court ordered them to be paid.[10] Despite the settlement, complaints continued[11] even into the 1990s.[12] However, the 34% target had been exceeded by 1993 with a 39.4% Hispanic-surnamed force.[12]

2012 shooting rates

Press reports in 2012 indicated that the department has one of the highest rates of shootings in the United States. Additionally, the police union had been routinely awarding cash payments to officers involved in shootings to help them recover emotionally from the event.[13][14][15]

2012 Department of Justice Investigation

On Tuesday, November 27, 2012, the United States Department of Justice announced a civil investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department regarding the use of force by the city of Albuquerque Police Department.[16][17]

The Justice Department announced today that it has opened a civil investigation into use of force by the city of Albuquerque, N.M., Police Department (APD). The investigation will focus on allegations that APD officers engage in use of excessive force, including use of unreasonable deadly force, in their encounters with civilians.

— United States Department of Justice, http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2012/November/12-crt-1415.html"

In its final report, the Justice Department said that the APD engaged "in a pattern or practice of violating residents' Fourth Amendment rights" and of using deadly force "in an unconstitutional manner" and called for an extensive series of reforms.[18]

James Boyd shooting

On the evening of Sunday, March 16, 2014, Albuquerque police responded to a report of a mentally handicapped man, James Boyd, camping in the foothills outside of Albuquerque, New Mexico. Boyd was a homeless person.[19][20] After hours of standoff, Boyd gathers belongings and surrenders to officers. Officers then launched a flash bang grenade, and ordered Boyd to get on the ground. Boyd appears to pull out a knife, makes a threatening motion towards and officer, and turns to run, at which point two officers (Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez) opened fire with a rifle, shooting Boyd in the back.[21][22][23] After Boyd falls to the ground, officers continue to shout orders at Boyd, release the police dog onto him, and shoot him repeatedly with bean bag rounds. They then approach Boyd and handcuff him while he lies in a pool of blood. The shooting was captured via a helmet-mounted camera by the policemen at scene and released to the public. The shooting is still being investigated, however the department maintains that the shooting was justified.[24]

One of the officers responsible for the shooting, Keith Sandy, faced criminal charges in 2007 for receiving payments from a private security contractor while working for the State Police. As a result, then-Deputy Chief Mike Castro that as a result, he would not be badged or allowed to carry a gun.[25][26]

A peaceful protest was held on March 25, 2014 in response to the shooting of James Boyd and the pattern of seemingly unending violent behavior exhibited by the Albuquerque police department. Roughly 600 people participated in the march down Central Avenue and Third Street to APD headquarters. A few police officers were present ensuring the protest remained peaceful.[27]

Alfred Redwine shooting

On March 25, 2014, Albuquerque police officers shot and killed Alfred Redwine. APD was called to the scene after Redwine allegedly pointed a gun at two girls. Redwine exited the apartment complex with an object held to his head, possibly a cell phone or a firearm.[28] It is unclear if the first shot fired was by Redwine or an APD officer, however, APD claims Redwine fired, at which point they returned fire. APD claims that a revolver was found at the scene.[29][30]

In the wake of the Redwine shooting, a second peaceful protest was organized to again demonstrate the unjust shootings by APD officers. Additionally, a video released (reportedly by the International hacking group "Anonymous") called for all Anonymous members to aim "their canons" at the Albuquerque Police Department's website. It also advocated for Albuquerque citizens to rise up and protest at APD headquarters on March 30, 2014.[31]

Hundreds of demonstrators took to the streets of Albuquerque, marching past police officers in riot gear to protest the spate of police-involved shootings. The Albuquerque Police Department reported their website had been down throughout the day due to a denial-of-service attack.[32][33] Mayor Richard Berry reported that the peaceful protest had turned to mayhem, responding to the arrest of an unknown number of citizens.[34]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Metropolitan and Micropolitan Statistical Areas". Retrieved May 23, 2013. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ "Executive Staff". The City of Albuquerque. 2014-03-31. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  3. ^ U.S. Department of Justice. "Census of State and Local Law Enforcement Agencies, 2008" (PDF). Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  4. ^ http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/15/us/new-mexico-police-chief-chosen-for-embattled-albuquerque-force.html
  5. ^ http://www.abqjournal.com/352961/news/3-left-in-running-for-chief-of-apd.html
  6. ^ Cohea, Carol (21 July 1973) "Chicano Police File Suit" The Albuquerque Journal page 1, column 4
  7. ^ Cohea, Carol (1 December 1973) "Defense Consultant Denies Tests Unfair to Chicano Police Group" The Albuquerque Journal page 5, column 1
  8. ^ Staff (21 November 1975) "New Trial Ordered" The Albuquerque Journal page 4, column 4
  9. ^ Stover v. Chicano Police Officers Ass'n, 426 U.S. 944 (1976)
  10. ^ a b c For case history see: Chicano Police Officer's Association v. Beserra, 624 F.2d 127 (1980 Tenth Circuit, opinion by Judge Logan)
  11. ^ Staff (9 September 1979) "Chcanos Allege Bias" The New Mexican page 15, column 3
  12. ^ a b Associated Press (13 April 1993) "Group challenges hiring practices of Albuquerque Police Department" The New Mexican page 8, column 1
  13. ^ Michael Haederle (14 April 2012). "In Albuquerque, an uproar over shootings by police". LA Times. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
  14. ^ Jeri Clausing (2012-03-23). "Albuquerque Police Were Paid 'Bounty' For Shootings Claims Victim's Father Mike Gomez". Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  15. ^ Manny Fernandez and Dan Frosch (March 24, 2012). "Payments to Albuquerque Officers Are Called a 'Bounty System'". Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  16. ^ Office of Public Affairs (2012-11-27). "Justice Department Launches Investigation of the Albuquerque, N.M., Police Department's Use of Force". The United States Department of Justice. Retrieved 2014-03-31.
  17. ^ Dan Frosch (November 27, 2012). "Justice Dept. to Investigate the Police in Albuquerque". Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  18. ^ Santos, Fernanda (10 April 2014). "Excessive Force Common for Albuquerque Police, Justice Dept. Finds". The New York Times.
  19. ^ http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/03/31/what-is-going-on-in-albuquerque-your-guide-to-the-police-shooting-protest/
  20. ^ http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/3/25/fatal-shooting-ofhomelessmanpromptsoutrageatalbuquerquepolice.html
  21. ^ Dan McKay (March 22, 2014). "March 21, 2014". Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  22. ^ Doug Fernandez (Mar 24, 2014). "Background released on officers involved in foothills shooting". Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  23. ^ Lee Moran (March 24, 2014). "Cops gun down homeless man for illegally camping in shocking helmet-cam footage". Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  24. ^ Sebastian Murdock (March 24, 2014). "Police Shoot Homeless Man During Camping Arrest". Huffington Post. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  25. ^ Jeff Proctor and Katie Kim (March 25, 2014). "Cop involved in Sunday shooting had rocky past, performance at APD". krqe.com. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  26. ^ Doug Fernandez (Mar 24, 2014). "Background released on officers involved in foothills shooting". KAOT 7 ABC. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  27. ^ Nicole Perez (March 26, 2014). "Hundreds protest police shooting of homeless man". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  28. ^ http://bigstory.ap.org/article/albuquerque-police-gun-down-man-shootout
  29. ^ Patrick Lohmann (March 27, 2014). "APD offers details on latest officer-involved shooting". Albuquerque Journal. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  30. ^ Russel Contreras (March 26, 2014). "Albuquerque Police Under New Shooting Scrutiny". ABC News. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  31. ^ Angela Brauer (March 31, 2014). "Group threatens cyber attack against Albuquerque, APD". KOAT 7 News. Retrieved March 31, 2014.
  32. ^ "Albuquerque police under cyberattack". Politico. 2014-03-30. Retrieved 2014-03-30.
  33. ^ "Anonymous takes on Albuquerque police". USA Today. 2014-03-30.
  34. ^ Michael Muskal (March 31, 2014). "What's behind Albuquerque police shooting protest and cyber attack?". Retrieved March 31, 2014.

External links

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