Wednesday, May 31, 2023An APD Free Of DOJ? Department Nears Total Compliance With Reforms Raising Hopes Of City Leaders; Numerous Police Shootings Have One Watchdog Saying APD Is Not Ready To Get Off The Leash, Plus: First Couple's 1ST Anniversary
But is APD really ready for less federal supervision given that there were 18 officer involved shootings in 2022? After all, it was the use of excessive force that brought the Feds to town for their long and expensive stay (over $10 million so far for a federal monitoring team) in the first place. Now that there is light at the end of the troubled tunnel the first serious analysis of what a DOJ withdrawal would mean is sprouting up. Not all of it is confident that APD is ready for more freedom, including that of ABQ attorney and former APD officer Tom Grover. He's been a pointed social media critic of Mayor Keller but has close ties to APD and has defended many of its officers involved in employment disputes. He gave this take on PBS of a possible DOJ-free APD: When it comes to actual responding to crime, when it comes to actual training, there's been this perception gap between what is actually happening and what DOJ is seeing and I think as a consequence, if DOJ does withdraw, the department is setting itself up for a very difficult transition period. (Removing the consent decree) is going to be like taking a soda can that's shook up and under pressure and DOJ withdraws and the cap comes off and it just fizzes out. Because with all the (police) shootings that we had last year, I think that's reflective of what's happened with the training, which is the officers either don't use any force or they instantly go to deadly force and they don't do anything in between. Without that pressure coming down from DOJ or various units that enforce DOJ mandates, they won't have that scrutiny and who knows what's going to happen because we are dealing with an entirely different generation of officers out there. The latest DOJ report said APD is now 92 percent compliant with the federally-ordered reforms and Mayor Keller is hopeful the decree will be removed. But Grover's skepticism is rooted not only in contemporary events but a long-standing APD culture that has given the city headaches for decades. He has been critical of the long-running overtime scandal at APD which has resisted the reform efforts of seven state auditors. It is those 18 officer involved shootings in 2022--a new record--that is so unsettling. How can that be after so many years of oversight over the use of force? APD promises more "targeted" training to reduce the shootings that can take innocent lives and cost the city millions in lawsuits. Meantime, City leaders may want to squelch their desire to get off the DOJ leash until they see the impact of that new training. FIRST COUPLE 1st ANNIVERSARY  On Sunday, the First Gentleman and I celebrated our first wedding anniversary. Manny, thank you for always supporting me, our family, and our beautiful state. Here’s to many, many more years together! The couple has been together since 2012 but their wedding, after being delayed because of Covid, came in the middle of historic wildfires in the state. It was a low-key affair with no official statement or even a photo released at the time. Mostly close family and friends were in attendance. Cordova, an ABQ area native who is now 67, runs an automotive repair business. His relationship with the Governor has not extended to the public arena in which he is rarely seen. She refers to him occasionally in social media posts as "The First Manny." MLG is 63 and an attorney who has spent most of her career in government and politics. Her first husband of 21 years, attorney Gregory Grisham, died of an aneurysm in 2004. This is the home of New Mexico politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023 |
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