ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – One after another, Albuquerque police officers have decided to give up their badge rather than be interviewed by internal affairs. All of this is happening during a federal and internal investigation into what KRQE News 13 has learned involves accusations about officers getting paid to get DWI cases dismissed.
Related Coverage:
KRQE Investigates sat down with APD Chief Harold Medina to ask how officers will be held accountable if they keep walking away. It’s been two months since Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina announced his department launched an internal investigation into its own DWI officers.
“I was not shocked that any of them are resigned and that they weren’t going to make a statement to us,” Chief Medina told KRQE. Five officers have since resigned from APD.
They’re all targets of the internal affairs investigation, and all connected to the federal investigation KRQE News 13 learned surrounds accusations officers were getting paid to get DWI cases dismissed. Lt. Justin Hunt resigned in February after 24 years with the department.
Honorio Alba resigned that same month after 10 years. This month, Harvey Johnson and Nelson Ortiz resigned after serving a combined 18 years with APD. And the latest to resign just last week, was Officer Joshua Montaño. He’s been with APD for nearly 20 years.
Each of the five officers turned in their badge before an internal affairs investigator could interview them about possible involvement in the corruption case.
“I think it looks horrible on the individual officer, and I think it looks bad and it makes them appear guilty,” Chief Medina explained. “But I also know that an inconsistent statement or anything that they’ve told the FBI before could be a federal charge for lying to an FBI agent. So they have a lot at stake here coming back to us.”
Chief Medina believes those officers are following an attorney’s advice by not talking. He claims completing the investigation is not only possible but a priority with other witness interviews.
Meanwhile, a sixth officer, a Commander of the Internal Affairs Division remains on administrative leave.
How far could this scheme have gone?
KRQE asked Chief Medina if the alleged scheme could go beyond these six officers. “Without a doubt, we’re seeing that the possibility is there. And we are currently still working through, a lot of individuals have retired,” Medina explained.
And if those officers were part of a corruption scheme, it raises the question: How do you ensure to the public that officers will be held accountable when it seems like some of them have quietly resigned or retired?
“We can’t force them to continue to stay here until we terminate them,” said Medina. “But these individuals have immensely lost. There are some that are extremely close to retirement that are losing out,” Medina added. “And we haven’t even gotten to the point of criminal accountability.”
Financially, Medina said they’re losing out on paychecks and a full career with retirement benefits. And when the FBI completes its investigation, there could be federal criminal charges.
“We may not ever know the full truth and get every single member, but we will do our due diligence to ensure that there’s accountability to anybody who wore this uniform and badge in the past,” said Chief Medina.
The federal investigation prompted the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office to dismiss more than 200 pending criminal cases, mostly DWIs the five officers were connected to.
KRQE Investigates uncovered red flags in some of those cases, connecting certain officers’ DWI arrests with Defense Attorney Thomas Clear III’s office, whose home was also raided by the feds.
One case involving an arrest conducted by Officer Montaño involved a voicemail and clandestine recording with a paralegal that the DWI defendant said revealed more about how the scheme may have worked. Below is a transcript of a portion of DWI defendant Carlos Smith’s interaction with a man he said was Rick Mendez, Thomas Clear’s paralegal:
Paralegal: If you need to get off of this –
Smith: I do.
Paralegal: Okay. You’re at the right place. If you’re one of those people that can live with it, then go hire a cheap attorney.
Paralegal: We’re not the cheapest.
“The part where you read between the lines is some sort of benefit to the officer from the attorney who charges well above the market rate,” said Leon Howard, Deputy Director for ACLU New Mexico.
KRQE News 13 obtained a copy of Officer Montaño’s resignation letter from March 20th, which states, “The issues I let myself get caught up in within the DWI unit were generational.” For him to talk, he said he, “…needed to not be the city’s scapegoat for its own failures.”
Montaño went on to write, “I take responsibility for my actions.” However, the officer didn’t elaborate.
“I gave my commitment to the public no stone will go unturned,” Medina told KRQE News 13.
Chief credits DOJ reform for exposing wrongdoing
Nearly a decade into being under the watch of the Department of Justice in a settlement agreement focused on reform, this year, APD is closer than ever to full compliance. Since news of the DWI scandal broke, critics have asked how this wasn’t brought to light earlier.
“I honestly compliment so many parts of where we are today because we actually went in compliance and had accountability set up,” said Medina. The Chief credits part of the reform process with exposing wrongdoing.
“A lot of the changes we’ve made through our reform process, actually, I think in the end is going to explain quite a bit as to how this scheme was forced to change to the point where it became exposed,” Medina said.
When asked if he’s learned anything that’s surprised him through this process from January to now, Medina replied, “I’ve learned that politics are rough. And, God put me in this position, and I’m in a good place in my life and in my career where I’m here to do the right thing.”
“But it has, without a doubt, been probably the most challenging three months of my 29 years of law enforcement,” Chief Medina added.
Chief Medina said he’s already filed police misconduct reports with the state Law Enforcement Academy, which could impact those officers’ law enforcement certification. He said the public will hear about the results when APD’s internal investigation is complete.
“Despite presenting multiple scenarios whereby investigators could interview my client, even as recently this week, the city is the one who declined,” Thomas Grover attorney for former Officer Joshua Montaño.
Copyright 2024 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRQE NEWS 13 - Breaking News, Albuquerque News, New Mexico News, Weather, and Videos.
Most Popular
Comments / 0