New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham announced the appointment of former Democratic State Party Chair and defense attorney Sam  Bregman as the new 2nd Judicial District Attorney replacing Raúl Torrez.  Torrez was elected Attorney General on November 8 and was  is sworn in  on January 1 replacing Attorney General Hector Balderas.  According to a press release, Bregman will begin serving in the position immediately.   Bregman will serve the remaining 2 years of Raúl Torrez’s 4 year term he was elected to in 2020.  It was reported that Bregman will not run for reelection in 2024.

Governor Lujan Grisham  had this to say in a press release:

“A former prosecutor with extensive experience in litigation and case oversight, Sam Bregman will bring a fresh perspective to the Second Judicial District Attorney’s office.  … I am confident that he will serve as a dedicated and effective district attorney focused on improving public safety and supporting the people of Bernalillo County. …  Bregman will leave the office after serving the remaining two years of Torrez’s term. … He will not run for reelection to the office, focusing on the office’s work to combat crime and build stronger, safer communities.”

Sam Bregman had this to say about his appointment:

“I am honored to be appointed as Second Judicial District attorney. I realize the great responsibility of the role and am committed to relentlessly pursuing justice for the residents of Bernalillo County. …  I look forward to joining the hardworking staff of the DA’s office and will prioritize fully staffing the office to support their ongoing critical work. Together we will serve the people of central New Mexico and deliver real results and improve public safety.”

ABOUT SAM BREGMAN

Sam Bregman is a 1989 graduate of the University of New Mexico Law School.  He  is a former Democratic Party State Chairman. Bregman  served as an Assistant Bernalillo County District Attorney from 1994 through 1997. Bregman was an elected Albuquerque City Council from 1995 until 1999 and has a served as Deputy State Auditor for the State of New Mexico.  Bregman unsuccessfully ran for Commissioner of Public Lands and Mayor of Albuquerque.  Bregman currently serves on the New Mexico Racing  Commission and is Chairman of the Commission.

Bregman has trial experience in both civil and criminal defense’ with 3 decades of trial experience. He  has  represented defendants in several high-profile cases over the years including representing Keith Sandy, one of the two APD Officers who faced charges for the shooting killing of homeless camper James Boyd in 2014. He represented Keith Brandon and Jonathan Sandoval, the two Metropolitan Detention Center officers charged in the 2019 death of inmate Vincente Villela. He also represented the family of Amelia Baca, who was shot and killed by a Las Cruces Police Officer in April of 2022.

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/governor-appoints-bernalillo-county-district-attorney/

https://www.koat.com/article/gov-lujan-grisham-second-judicial-district-attorney/42389045

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/governor-appoints-sam-bregman-as-bernalillo-county-da/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2561709/longtime-defense-attorney-sam-bregman-named-da.html

OTHER APPLICANTS

Bregman was one of 14 applicants who applied for the appointment. The 13 other applicants were:

1. Damon Martinez, a former United States Attorney for New Mexico. 
2. Private Attorney Ed Perea, a retired APD  Police Commander.  
3. Joseph Gandert, a private Albuquerque attorney, and a fomer Federal Public defender. office for 20 plus years.
4. Joseph Gribble,an Albuquerque attorney, a 1977 graduate of University of New Mexico law with extensive experience in criminal and civil litigation
5. Evan Cochnar a fomer prosecutor who currently works for the New Mexico Risk Management Division.
6. Assistant Attorney General Ashley Schweizer.
7. Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney Josh Boone who  oversees the Metropolitan Division.
8. Bernalillo CountyDeputy District Attorney John Duran, who oversees the District Attorneys’ Major Crimes Division.
9. Bernalillo CountyDeputy District Attorney Diana Garcia who oversees the DA’s Juvenile Division.
10. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Flores.
11. Brianne Bigej, general counsel for the New Mexico Department of Corrections
12. Matthias Swonger, supervising attorney for the New Mexico Public Defenders Offices.
13. Private Attorney and former prosecutor Steven S. Suttle.

BERNALILLO COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY’S OFFICE

As of November 21,2022, according to the New Mexico State Government Sunshine Portal, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office has a $30,350,800 million operating budget with an adjusted operating budget of $36,680,800 which includes all sources of financing including federal grants.  The office is budgeted for 337 full time positions.  The office employs 102 attorneys (81 filled, 21 vacant) who are “at will” and 255 other “classified” employees consisting of paralegals, administrative assistants, victim advocates, investigators, IT managers and personnel and finance division personnel who can only be terminated for cause under the state personnel rules and regulations.  276 of the positions are “active” meaning filled. The office has an alarming 61 vacancies. The number of vacancies in the office is larger than most other District Attorney’s offices in the state.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The appointment of Sam Bregman did come with some politcal  drama  when on December 2, the Governor’s office released the names of 10 attorneys who applied for the appointment and Bregman’s name was one of the 10. On December 12, the deadline for attorneys to file applications was extended  December 23.  No explanation was given for the extension of time for applications. On December  28,  the names of 4 additional attorneys who applied were released  bringing the total number of applicants to 14. Speculation was rampant that the Governor was not at all satisfied with the 10 original applicants which was the reason for extending the deadline to allow others to apply.

Notwithstanding the politcal drama, the appointment of Sam Bregman did  not come  as a surprise to politcal insiders. Since announcing  the names of  all 14 applicants, insiders said the appoint was Bregman’s  for the asking and that he had the “inside track” on the appointment because of his politcal connections, association and fundraising for  the Governor.  There are no term limitations of the office of Bernalillo County District Attorney.  What did come as a surprise to many is that  Bregman will serve the remaining 2  years of  Raúl Torrez’s  4 year term and he will not run for a full 4 year term in 2024.  Essentially Bregman is a lame duck or caretaker and will not be able to  do much with the office over the next 24 months.

Bregman has a reputation for being very bombastic with an extreme affinity to TV news cameras. When he served as an Albuquerque City Councilor, he was labeled “Showboat Sam” and it was said the most dangerous place to be was between  Bregman and TV news cameras. His reputation for showboating carried over the years but  he became more bombastic as Democrat Party Chair and  even as a criminal defense attorney as he played to the news cameras. Each time Bregman  handled a high profile case, whether it be criminal or civil, you could always expect a news conference as he gave his spin on the case.

There is little to no doubt that Bregman still harbors future political ambitions.  More than a few sources, including a few prominent defense attorneys, are saying he has told them he intends to run for Mayor again in 2025 knowing full well that Mayor Tim  Keller is failing with a 33% approval rating  and that the city’s spiking violent crime rates will again be a major issue. His  timing of serving 2 years as DA would be perfect as his appointed term time will end on December 31, 2024 and the 2025 Mayor’s race will begin in earnest in March, 2025 with nominating petitions being  available.

Bregman would be wise to curb his “publicity seeking” ways as District Attorney, something that his predecessor Raúl Torrez was known for and that got him in trouble with the courts and the legislature.  He would also be wise to try and learn the office first and keep his big mouth shut  before he tries to set any priorities and deal with the legislature in that he has never managed anything bigger than his own solo practice  law firm.

The Bernalillo County District Attorneys office currently has a 65% combined voluntary dismissal, acquittal and mistrial rate.  The city continues to break all time homicide records.  In 2021 there were 117 homicides and in 2022  there were 120  homicides. There  is a “revolving door” for experienced prosecutors with no less than 21 attorney vacancies and a total 61 vacancies out of 276 full time positions.  The DA’s office is now Bregman’s and he must perform.  If he fails, he can probably kiss his future political ambitions good bye.

The big  question is if  Governor Lujan Grisham  appointed Bregman in exchange for his commitment not to run for a full 4 year term in 2 years.  Such a concession and agreement has happened before when Governor MLG appointed Jim Collie Bernalillo County Commission for 2 years in exchange for his commitment not to seek a full 4 year term.

New Mexico State Senator  Bill Tallman represents Senate District 18 which includes Albuquerque. He was first elected to the New Mexico Senate in 2016. Senator Tallman is the Vice Chair of the Senate Health & Public Affairs Committee, Vice Chair of the Transportation Infrastructure Revenue Subcommittee and a member of the Senate Tax, Business & Transportation Committee. Tallman earned a Bachelor of Arts from Syracuse University in 1968 and a Master of Public Administration from the University of Cincinnati in 1972.  Senator Tallman has extensive experience in municipal government  having served as deputy city manager of Santa Fe, New Mexico. He has also worked as city manager of Norwich, Connecticut and Hamilton, Ohio both of which own and operate their gas and electric utilities. He has served as the Assistant County Manager of Schenectady, New York.  After relocating to New Mexico to become Deputy City Manager of Santa Fe, he remained in the area and ran for a seat in the New Mexico Senate.

https://www.nmlegis.gov/members/Legislator?SponCode=STALL

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Tallman

Below is a guest opinion column submitted for publication on this blog by Democrat New Mexico State Senator Bill G. Tallman.

EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this guest column are those of State Senator Bill G. Tallman  and do not necessarily reflect those of the www.petedinelli.com blog. The Senator has not been paid compensation to publish the guest column and has given his  consent to publish on www.PeteDinelli.com.

BUILD A DOWNTOWN MULTI PURPOSE ARENA IN ABQ USING PORTION OF $3.6 MILLION STATE REVENUE SURPLUS

“On December 12, the Legislative Finance Committee released its Consensus Revenue Estimate for fiscal year 2024 which begins July 1, 2023. It was reported that New Mexico’s revenues have ballooned to historical levels because of the state’s revenues from oil and gas production.  The new estimates released project the state will have an astonishing $3.6 billion in “new” money available for the budget year that starts on July 1, 2023.

 The 60-day legislative session is scheduled to begin on January 17, 2023. Discussions are seriously underway on how to spend the record-high revenue during the 60-day legislative session. Top budget and finance officials in Lujan Grisham’s administration are urging lawmakers to use the windfall on one-time major capital improvement projects. Funding for ongoing programs need to be kept to a minimum due to the inevitable decreases in revenues from the oil and gas industry.   

 What all too often is totally ignored because lack of revenues are major capital outlay projects that can be transformative to a community.  Given the sure magnitude of the surplus, it is likely municipalities, citizens and interest groups will be asking for funding for special capital projects such as swimming pools, parks, recreation facilities, sport facilities, and entertainment venues.  

 A modern multi-purpose arena located in Downtown Albuquerque is such a transformative project that will improve the overall quality of life. A modern multi-purpose arena belongs Downtown. Over the last 25 years  I have literally visited 25 big city arenas including  Cincinnati, Chicago, Indy,  Charlotte, Nashville, New Orleans, St Louis, etc  They are all located in Downtowns.  There are good solid reasons why all these big city arenas are located in Downtowns. When these arenas  empty out the atmosphere on the streets is electric and very exciting.

 New Mexico has a population of slightly over one million people residing within 50-60 miles of downtown Albuquerque. According to my research , Albuquerque is the only metro area with a population of a million or more without a modern multi-purpose arena. The UNM Pit is a single-purpose facility, Tingley is a 65-year-old antiquated “barn”, and the Santa Ana Arena is undersized (thus not able to attract larger functions or big-name entertainers) located on a two-lane road 20 miles from the center of population.

 The consultants engaged to determine the feasibility of the rejected soccer stadium projected that the stadium would only be used on 24 dates annually, whereas a muti-purpose arena could have a minimum of 100 events and as many as 150 if managed by competent and professional personnel. A multi-purpose facility would literally be “multi-purpose”: concerts, minor league hockey, NCAA regional basketball tournament games (the PIT no longer meets the NCAA requirements), large faith-based services, Gathering of Nations, arena football, exhibitions, trade shows, tractor pulls, indoor soccer, and nationally-televised boxing/martial arts matches. Also, Albuquerque could attract larger conventions if we had a nearby facility that could seat more attendees during plenary sessions.

 Several times a week, big name entertainers pass thru Albuquerque in their multi-million-dollar tour buses. If we had a modern, large arena seating a minimum of 15,000, mega star entertainers would include Albuquerque on their itinerary.

 During my tenure as the City Manager of Moline, Illinois (Headquarters of Deere & Co.), I was a member of the Quad City Civic Center Authority that planned and constructed a 12,000-seat arena. This arena operated in the black for 15 years until the Great Recession without ever promising this to taxpayers. Even though that metro area population was just shy of 400,000, our first event sold out in 45 minutes.

 Such a facility would be “transformational” for the following reasons:

–   New Mexicans would not have to travel to Denver, Phoenix, Austin, and Dallas for big-name entertainment.

–   It would help to enhance Albuquerque as a convention site and tourist destination. 

–   The ABQ Chamber of Commerce states in a recent publication that successful downtowns include a “play environment” that includes shopping, entertainment, and open spaces. The article goes on to state that more activity downtown would help to revitalize Downtown; 80 to 90% of big city arenas are located downtown.

–   Young people are leaving our region not only for lack of jobs, but they are attracted to cities such as Austin, Phoenix, and Denver, all of which have a ‘big city’ atmosphere.

The estimated cost of such a facility would be in the range of $150-$250 million. $200 million would be just 5.5% of the $3.6 billion the LFC is projecting the state has available for construction during the 2022-23 budget year.

 Also, I believe that alternative uses of the federal funding windfall – other than funding earmarked for brick and mortar – should be discussed through meaningful public input. Serious consideration for the use of our one time federal funding should be given to critical issues such as affordable housing and behavioral health. Sen. Ortiz y Pino and I have recommended to the Senate Democrat Caucus that we direct $100 million towards a transformational statewide behavioral health program.

 The 2023 legislative session could very well turn out to be a “once in a century opportunity” because of the buget surplus to solve many of the state’s problems that have plagued it for so many decades.  It should also be viewed as an opportunity to build transformative facilities that are needed and that will have a lasting impact on the state’s quality of life for decades to come.”

 The link to a related Dinelli blog article is here:

State Budget Officials Say Use Staggering $3.6 Billion Surplus In State Revenue For Transformative Capital Projects; Gov. MLG Buys Into Republican Short Sighted Politcal Dogma Of Using Surplus For Meager Tax Cuts And Rebates With Short Term Benefit

On January 17 the 2023 New Mexico legislative session will begin its  60-day session. Amongst the legislation that should be considered is abolishing New Mexico’s part time “Citizens Legislature” and the creation of a full time, professional legislature.

REPORT ON LEGISLATIVE PROFESSIONALISM

According to a University of New Mexico study,  the New Mexico Legislature is near the bottom in legislative professionalism. The  55-page study is called A Report on Legislative Professionalism for the State of New Mexico. It was written by UNM Professors Timothy Krebs and Michael Rocca.  The study calls for basic changes in the New Mexico’s legislature with the aim at increasing the efficiency and capacity of the institution. This blog article is a discussion and analysis of the report.

The link to read and review the full 55-page report is here:

Click to access A-Report-on-Legislative-Professionalism-for-the-State-of-New-Mexico-Final54.pdf

According to Krebs/Rocca report:

“In 1971, the Citizens Conference on State Legislatures (CCSL) released a landmark assessment of our nation’s state legislatures to gain a better understanding of why our state governments were failing. The CCSL’s report—along with their 1971 book called The Sometime Governments: An Evaluation of the 50 American Legislatures—included sweeping recommendations to strengthen our state legislatures.  Among other things, it sought to provide legislatures more resources of time, compensation, staff, and facilities. The result was a massive effort across the nation over the next 50 years to “professionalize” our state legislatures.”

The UNM Report’s Executive Summary begins by framing why professional legislatures are so important and states in part:

“As polarization and gridlock continues to grip national politics, Americans are increasingly looking to states to remedy the nation’s most significant challenges. The burden has fallen to the states to address complex issues such as health care, immigration, infrastructure, energy, and the environment. Perhaps the federal government’s continued inaction compared to state governments’ action, is one reason why Americans trust their state government far more than their federal government. But this wasn’t always the case. In the 1960s, state governments—particularly their legislatures—were in crisis. Few legislatures had the capacity to address the daunting issues (particularly civil rights and poverty) that were creating massive political, social, and economic unrest in our states and cities.”

FACTORS USED TO MEASURE PROFESSIONALISM

The UNM report defines legislative professionalism as follows:

“The extent to which the legislature can command the full attention of its members, providing them with adequate resources to do their jobs in a manner comparable to other full-time political actors, and setting up organizations and procedures that facilitate law making.”

According to the report, there are 3 major factors used to measure professionalism of a legislature and those factors are  1. session length, 2. support staff and 3. member salary.

Based on accepted measures of professionalism and data available, the study found the following that affects the New Mexico state legislature’s ability to legislate effectively:

1. “The New Mexico legislature meets an average of 70.53 legislative days during each biennium (two years) and its the 3rd shortest in the nation.

2. New Mexico spends less than $400,000 per legislator on staff every two years, which puts the state 33rd out of 50 in staff spending or the 18th lowest in the nation.

3. The New Mexico legislature maintains about 168 permanent staff, or about 1.5 per legislator, which ranks 36 out of 50 states related to employing permanent staff (15th lowest).

4. New Mexico remains the only state in the nation whose legislators do not receive a salary, although they do receive per diems for expenses. Most retain their day jobs or are retired or financially able to subsidize their service. Paid legislators no longer carry jobs they must juggle with legislative responsibilities, so they spend more time reviewing research, reports and legislation, ensuring a greater grasp of complex issues.

5. The study, which included comparable legislatures from around the country, characterized New Mexico’s structure as a part-time, amateur legislature with dual-career legislators.”

The report stated that it is clear  more professionalized legislatures are more effective lawmaking bodies. Legislatures that pay higher salaries write more detailed legislation that allows them to do the following:

• more effectively control state bureaucracies, especially when the legislature is controlled by one party and the governorship controlled by another.
• have a greater capacity than less professionalized legislatures to craft highly complex legislation in response to technical policy issues (e.g. energy regulation).
• be more innovative than their less professionalized counterparts and less prone to imitate the legislative choices of neighboring or similar states.

PROFESSIONALIZING THE LEGISLATURE ONLY GOES SO FAR

The report emphasized that professionalizing and modernizing the legislature needs to go beyond session length, legislator salary, and paid staff. A number of other barriers to effective, efficient legislative practice were noted and include the following:

• “Late start times for committee or chamber hearings. Sessions held after 10 pm or midnight might as well be closed sessions, as most New Mexicans will not stay at the Roundhouse or even remain on Zoom late at night. And certainly New Mexicans with kids to get to school or who have jobs that start at 8 or 9 a.m. will tune out long before midnight. Plus, toward the end of session, these late night hearings can be an everyday event, wearing legislators down and depriving them of time they can be researching bills or communicating with constituents.”

• “Governor’s “call” during short (30-day) sessions. The requirement that only the Governor’s agenda can be considered during a short session severely limits the authority of the legislature, effectively limiting legislators to introducing bills only during 60-day sessions.”

• “The filibusteris a tool used by the minority party to slow down the process and limit what can get done. On the last day of the 2022 session, Republican Sen. Bill Sharer spoke for three hours about baseball and a very inaccurate lesson in NM history, none of which was related to anything on the legislative table. But what was on the table was important election reform legislation that had passed the House and two Senate committees, so this was the last hurdle — except that Sen. Sharer had every intention of talking until the clock ran out and the session ended with election reform dying for lack of time. In truth, there had been plenty of time to conduct a 3-hour hearing and vote to pass important election reform legislation.”

• “Conflict of interest. Legislators who must work may have to vote on legislation that influences the industry in which they work. This occurred throughout the effort to pass legalized cannabis, as both House Speaker Brian Egolf and Senator Jacob Candelaria were attorneys for the cannabis industry. It isn’t just here that we find conflicts of interest, but also as a result of at least two legislators being in relationships with lobbyists. It is unrealistic to expect a legislator not to discuss bills with their partner and equally unrealistic to expect the lobbyist partner not to offer input. The only way to prevent undue lobbyist influence is to require legislators to reveal partner lobbyist or industry ties and then to formulate rules that prevent legislators from voting on bills in which they or their partners have vested interest.”

 THREE RECOMMENDATIONS MADE

 The report makes 3 recommendations to make New Mexico’s legislature a more professional institution. The 3  recommendations made in the report are:

1. Staffing: Increase the number of permanent legislative staff, especially staff connected to individual legislators as opposed to staff that might work for interim committees such as the Legislative Finance Committee or the other permanent, year-round policy committees. Most legislators in NM do not have dedicated staff; they only have access to staff during the legislative session and/or when their work outside the session puts them in contact with institutional staff members. Additional staff support is the best way to increase legislative capacity. Among other benefits, increasing professional staff and broadening their distribution in the legislature will mean greater ability for the legislature to check executive agencies and governmental programs, and for individual legislators to build expertise on policy and to conduct constituency service vital to their constituencies.

2. Salary: Work to provide a salary to legislators not because of its effects on the legislature, and more because it is the fair thing to do. Legislative salary as an indicator of professionalism is linked to a number of important phenomena such as who runs, time spent on the job, legislative productivity and non-voting, district legislation, good government reforms, economic development, etc., but the overall effect of salary is probably not as important as staffing. The question here of course will be where that salary is set.

3. Days in Session:   Days in session should be increased to enhance legislative capacity, especially in bargaining with the executive. Increasing session lengths will allow the legislature to become more involved in making policy, in shaping the budget, and running the government itself. As a result, the legislature will become a constant presence that cannot be ignored by the executive or anyone else.

Providing legislator salaries and increasing the days in the session, as well as providing for the introduction of all substantive legislation during each session, would have to come in the form of amending the state constitution. This would have to be approved by the Legislature and state voters.  However, providing staff to each legislator could be accomplished through legislation. as soon as this coming session.

UNM Professor Timothy Krebs had this to say:

“Research shows that more professionalized legislatures have greater to capacity to act in the policy and representational interests of state residents.  … Adding legislative staff, paying legislators and increasing time in session will help to modernize New Mexico state government in ways that would benefit both the legislature and its constituents.” 

UNM Professor Michael Rocca said that more staff will lead to more innovation, less copy-and-paste legislation from other states, and fewer errors.  Rocca sad this:

“Providing staff and salary, lengthening the session—It’s the right thing to do. It’s the fair thing to do — not to reward the legislators, but to provide constituent services, enable more representation and the ability to check interest groups and the governor.”

The link to the quoted news source material is here:

https://ladailypost.com/unm-study-ranks-new-mexico-near-bottom-in-legislative-professionalism-suggests-longer-sessions-salaries-staff/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYIS

A growing number of citizens and advocacy groups here in the state are calling for “modernizing” or “professionalizing” the Legislature in 2023. The groups include the New Mexico Ethics Watch, Common Cause New Mexico, the Rio Grande Sierra Club,  the League of Women Voters, Indivisible and Retake Democracy.  A major transformative change that is long overdue in the state is the professionalization of the New Mexico legislature to a full time paid legislature.

Democrats in the 2023 legislative session will hold a 45-25 majority in the House and a 27-15 edge in the Senate. Democrat Michelle Lujan and  Democrats should seize the opportunity during the 2023 legislative session and enact legislation calling for a constitutional amendment where voters can decide to make the New Mexico Legislature a professional, full time,  paid legislature.

On December 28, APD Chief Harold Medina and his upper command staff held a press conference to discuss the city’s homicides for the year, the clearance of cases and overall trends.  As of December 31, the city’s homicide number stood at 120.  It’s a record number for Albuquerque police homicide investigations. Last year’s total number was 117 for the year.

A total of 90 cases were solved in 2022 and 117 suspects were arrested, charged, or died. A majority of those cases come from homicides that happened this year but a few are from last year. According to Chief Medina,  half the murders were connected to a violent crime, like robberies during drug or gun deals but he believes there has been a rise in mental health related killings.  Medina said this:

“We’ve had some horrific domestic violence type calls with individuals so I think to me just anecdotal thinking it’s going to be the increase in mental health related homicides.”

APD gave a rundown on the demographics of people who have been arrested for murders this year. As for gender, APD reported 84% of the arrests were men and 16% were women, and 11 of the arrests were juveniles.  Medina said parents need to help when it comes to juveniles being arrested and he said this:

“So many of these trends parents can help with, you know educating their kids on the dangers of parties, parents not having parties for their kids thinking they’re going to control who comes and goes from the parties.”

According to APD, there have were 120 murder victims in 2022.  APD reported it has arrested 117 suspects this year.   Of the 117 suspects arrested, 81 were involved in cases from 2022 and 36 are related to cases from previous years.  APD reported that there are still 51 unsolved murders.

APD reported that a majority of homicide suspects arrested this year also had criminal history.  APD  said  50% of the suspects had a violent crime past.

Most of the cases solved this year involved guns.  Chief Medina said  there is an ongoing concern with the number of guns being illegally sold on the black market.

APD credits their success of solving cases to additional resources they had this year, including increasing the number of personnel assigned to the homicide unit.  APD Deputy Commander Kyle who oversees the department’s Criminal Investigations Division said the changes and additions to APD’s investigative units have helped the department clear more cases this year.  Hartsock said advances in technology, better investigative training and working with prosecutors have also  played a part.  Hartsock had this to say:

“This is one of the rare times we are arresting more people than new cases are coming our way. … This is a significant achievement.”

APD officials say they are focusing on making sure justice is served.  Part of that is making sure state lawmakers provide the means to improve the criminal justice system.  APD said it wants to see an investment into young adult courts and processes within the city, as well as tackling arrest warrants. APD public information Officer Gilbert Gallegos has this to say:

“We’ve called on the Legislature to really invest their resources into the entire criminal justice system. We don’t want to see these cases, pled out or fall through the cracks because there’s not sufficient resources to try them.”

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-to-discuss-117-murder-suspects-arrested-this-year/

https://www.krqe.com/podcasts/albuquerque-police-are-solving-more-homicide-cases-in-2022/

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/apd-90-homicide-cases-solved-117-suspects-arrested-this-year/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2500912/apd-homicide-unit-solving-more-cases-faster.html

MID YEAR SUCCES REPORTED

According to a July 9, 2022 Albuquerque Journal report, the Albuquerque Police Department was solving nearly twice as many homicide cases despite dramatic increases in homicides. APD credited the success to more detectives and a victim-oriented approach based on teamwork, oversight and training.

APD Deputy Commander Kyle Hartsock, who oversees the homicide unit, said although the cases, victims and suspects change, the trends and the causes if the homicides remain largely the same. According to Hartsock, “individual disrespect”, which he defined as a dispute for one reason or another, is one of the biggest motives for homicides and account for 50 of this year’s homicides.

Hartsock said many of the disputes that result in a homicide start over social media but end “in the street.” According to Hartstock:

“We see people go on Instagram Live and start talking trash and people they’re talking about get on the comments like ‘let’s meet up. … If there wasn’t a gun with one of these two people, it just wouldn’t have been a homicide, it would have been something else. A fistfight. … I think it’s pretty astonishing that we’re on the same pace we were last year right now for murders – and we’ve more than doubled the clearance rate. … We can’t keep at this pace without lots of stress and strain on the unit. … So we’re still hoping that number comes back down to closer to what it was over the past five, six years.”

The link to the quotes full Albuquerque Journal report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2500912/apd-homicide-unit-solving-more-cases-faster.html

APD leaders said they have increased the number of detectives but are basically using the same resources, just in a different way, to get results. The unit currently has 16 detectives, some who are still in training, which is the highest number the department has ever had.

APD made a push to add several new detectives over the past year to match the pace of homicides. According to Criminal Investigations Division Commander George Vega, they are using teamwork and an emphasis on assistance from the Digital Intelligence Unit, District Attorney’s Office and others to solve cases faster.

Hartsock said a new review process has detectives meet with a supervisor at the two-day and 60-day mark following a homicide, to go over where the case stands and what it needs to be solved. Hartsock said this:

“A lot of these meetings have turned out arrest warrants within days, because when you’re the detective, there’s so much information … it’s a lot to process and you kind of lose sight. … When we force the other experienced eyes to get on it. We come up with a clear plan almost every time.”

APD Chief Medina for his part said the detective academy is also making a difference and he had this to say:

“We’re finding that [new detectives are] hitting the ground running faster, and actually producing very good quality work and getting results quicker.”

Medina also said there has been pushback from the unit because of extra oversight of the unit and that has been a “culture change” for the unit.

Criminal Investigations Division Commander George Vega said for those detectives who are resistant to change, they need to see and appreciate the results and said:

“Once we show them the success and the new resources that are in the building – everybody likes to be a part of something that’s successful,” he said. “That’s where we’re at now is we’re showing them – we’re giving them a path to take – and we feel like they’re starting to really grab onto it.”

The link to the full unedited and quoted Journal report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2515026/violence-in-abq-wont-let-up.html

During each year of Mayor Tim Keller’s years in office, the city’s murder rates rose, dropped one year, and then rose to a historical high. Following is the breakdown of homicide by year:

2017: 72 homicides
2018: 69 homicides.
2019: 82 homicides
2020: 76 homicides
2021: 117 homicides
2022:  120  homicides 

https://www.abqjournal.com/1534762/homicide-numbers-high-despite-pandemic.html?amp=1

https://www.abqjournal.com/2458296/remembering-some-of-2021s-homicide-victims-in-abq-ex-total-

NATIONAL CLEARANCE RATES

Following are the national clearance rates for 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 as reported by the FBI:

In 2016, the national clearance rate for murder offenses was 59.4%.
In 2017, the national clearance rate for murder was 61.6%
In 2018, the national clearance rate for murder was 62.3%
In 2019, the national clearance rate for murder was 61.4%

The links to retrieve and review the above clearance rates are here:

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/topic-pages/clearances

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2017/crime-in-the-u.s.-2017

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2018/crime-in-the-u.s.-2018/topic-pages/clearances

https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2019/crime-in-the-u.s.-2019/topic-pages/clearances

From 2019 to 2020, police across the country solved 1,200 more murders, a 14% increase. But murders rose twice as quickly by 30%.

As a result, the homicide clearance rate, the percentage of crimes cleared, dropped to a historic low to about 1 of every 2 murders solved or by 50%.

In 2021, the national clearance rate was  50%

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/01/12/as-murders-spiked-police-solved-about-half-in-2020

 CITY’S HISTORICAL HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATE HALF NATIONAL AVERAGE

The city of Albuquerque is a performance-based budget. Each year, city departments must submit statistics to substantiate their accomplishments and justify their budgets. The homicide clearance rates for the Albuquerque Police Department are disclosed  in the annual APD city budgets.

For the years 2019 to 2021, the city’s homicide clearance percentage rate have been in the 50%-60% range but have in fact dropped dramatically to less than 40% one year.

According to the 2020, 2021 and 2022 APD approved city budget, following are APD’s homicide clearance rates for the years 2016 to 2021:

FISCAL YEAR 2019 APD APPROVED BUDGET PERFORMANCE MEASURES

2016: APD homicide clearance rate 80%

Fiscal year 2019 APD approved budget, Page 212:

https://documents.cabq.gov/budget/fy-19-approved-budget.pdf

FISCAL YEAR 2020 APD APPROVED BUDGET PERFORMANCE MEASURES

2017: APD homicide clearance rate 70%.
2018: APD homicide clearance rate 47%.

Fiscal year 2020, approved budget, Page 213:

https://documents.cabq.gov/budget/fy-20-approved-budget.pdf

FISCAL YEAR 2021 APD APPROVED BUDGET PERFORMANCE MEASURES

2018: APD homicide clearance rate 47%.

2019: APD homicide clearance rate 57%

Fiscal year 2021 approved budget, Page 227:

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy21-adjusted-approved-numbered-w-hyperlinks-final.pdf

FISCAL YEAR 2022 APPROVED BUDGET PERFORMANCE MEASURES

2020: APD’s homicide clearance rate 53%.
2021: APD’ clearance rate 37%  

Fiscal year 2022 approved budget, Page 231:

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/documents/fy22-approved-budget-numbered-w-hyperlinks-final.pdf

The link to review all city budgets from Fiscal years 2007 to 2023 is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/dfa/budget/annual-budget

CALCULATING APD CLEARANCE RATE FOR 2022

As reported above, the annual clearance rate for APD since 2017 has been as high as 80% and as low as 37%.  In 2021, the clearance rate was 37%, in 2020  it was 53%,  in 2019 it was 57%, in 2018 it was 47% and in 2017 it was 70% and in 2016 it was 80%.

On May 19, 2022 it was reported that APD proclaimed it had a 97% clearance rate with 47 suspects arrested, charged or identified in 40 recent and past homicide cases.  Of the 47 suspects arrested, charged or identified as of May, 23  were suspected in 2022 homicides and 24 in previous year homicides, 17 from 2021, two from 2020 and five from 2019.

The problem is that APD calculated the 97% clearance rate by relying only on the 40 cases that were actually being investigated from January 1 to May 19 thereby resulting in the inflated clearance rate.  The problem is that is not how it’s done by the FBI.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2500912/apd-homicide-unit-solving-more-cases-faster.html

Each year since 1995, the FBI releases annually its Crime In The United States Report. The Marshall Project describes the FBI’s method of calculating clearance rate as “blunt math…dividing the number of crimes that were cleared, no matter which year the crime occurred, by the number of new crimes in the calendar year.” By including clearance of old and new cases, a department’s rate in any particular year could exceed 100%. This leaves the statistics open to “statistical noise,” but ultimately can be useful for examining trends over a longer term.

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2022/01/12/as-murders-spiked-police-solved-about-half-in-2020

In 2022 there were 120 homicides as of December 31 and 90 homicide  cases were reported as solved, which included 36 cases from previous years.  Using the FBI method of calculating murder clearance rates for 2022 , there were a  total of 90 homicide cases cleared in 2022,  the total number of  new homicide cases was 120  for the calendar year which results in a clearance rate of 75%. (90  cases cleared in 2022, 120  new cases for 2022 = 75% clearance rate.)

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

APD’s clearance rate last year was a miserable 37% and as it stands now for 2022 it is an impressive 75%.   There is little doubt that APD has had an impressive year in increasing its homicide clearance rate by 38% going from 37% to 75%.  APD and its homicide are  recognized and commended for doing their jobs of doubling down on the resources to solve cases not only from this year but previous years.  APD needs to continue with what they are doing in 2023 to solve cases to refer them to the District Attorney for prosecution such that justice can be served.

City residents and the victim families can take comfort with APD being able to increase solving the number of homicide cases.  However, the blunt truth is the solving murder cases does not and will not make the city any safer as the city  breaks all time records for the past 5 years in homicides and violent crime.

On November 16  Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham’s office announced it was  accepting applications to fill the vacancy of Bernalillo County District Attorney Raúl Torrez who was elected Attorney General on November 8 and who will be  is sworn into office on January 1.  On December 2, the Governor’s office released the names of 10 attorneys who applied for the appointment.  On December 12, the deadline for attorneys to file applications was extended to Friday, December 23.  No explanation was given for the extension of time for applications.

FOUR ADDITIONAL APPLICANTS

On December 28, it was reported that 4 additional applications have filed for the appointment bringing the total number of applicants to 14.  According to Nora Meyers Sackett, spokeswoman for the Governor’s Office  “Interviews are taking place and an appointment will be made expeditiously.”

The 4 additional applicants are:

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexander Flores.  Flores is a native of Albuquerque and a 2004 graduate of Albuquerque Academy. He is a 2013  graduate of UNM School of Law, a 2010 graduate of Princeton University with a Masters Degree in Public Affairs, a 2008 graduate of George Washington University with a BA Degree in Public Policy, and a 2006  graduate of McCalister College with a BA in Political Science and American Studies.  For over 10 years he served in the United States Marine Corp where his service included operational and international law service for the Marine Corps and  prosecuted general and special courts-martials  for the Marine Corps and prosecuted  a full range of criminal cases including murder, rape, child-sexual abuse and assault, financial crimes, drug offenses, and aggravated assault with a critical emphasis on both special victims and high-visibility cases.  Flores has been Assistant United States Attorney for New Mexico  since February, 2020.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/alexflores#:~:text=About,Attorney%20in%20Albuquerque%2C%20New%20Mexico.

Brianne Bigej, general counsel for the New Mexico Department of Corrections. Biegei has been General Counsel for the Department of Corrections since June, 2020. She is a 2012 graduate of UNM Law School and  has a Masters of Arts Degree from UNM and a BA degree  from New Mexico State.  From 2017 to 2020, she was with Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office and served in the Special Proceedings Division and in the Major Crimes/Violent Crimes Division. From May, 2018 to February 2019, she served as and Assistant Attorney General in the Special Prosecutions Division. From  June 2013 to  Nov 2017, she served as an  Assistant Trial Attorney  in the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office serving in the Special Victims Unit/Crimes Against Children, the  Community Crimes Division and the Metropolitan Court Division.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/brianne-bigej-69648540

Matthias Swonger, supervising attorney for the New Mexico Public Defenders Offices.   Swonger has been with the New Mexico Public Defenders Office for close to 11 years and currently serves in the felony division. He is a 2010 graduate of the New York University School of Law and 2006 graduate of the University of Rhode Island with  a Bachelor’s degree in English and Litature.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/matthias-swonger-b9941379

Private Attorney and former prosecutor Steven S. Suttle.   Suttle worked for 14 years in the Attorney General’s Office before retiring in 2010. Steven Suttle was an elected district attorney in Oklahoma before moving to New Mexico to become a prosecutor in the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office in Albuquerque in 1991.  He has served as an Assistant  Attorney General under Attorney Generals Gary King, Patricia Madrid and Tom Udall.

The link to the news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2560194/14-vie-for-governors-appointment-as-da.html

PREVIOUS APPLICANTS

The 10 previous applicants are as follows:

Sam Bregman, a former Democratic Party State Chairman.  He  is a respected trial attorney who manages his own private law firm. Bregman currently serves on the New Mexico Gaming Commission. His has trial experience in both civil and criminal defense and he has handled high profile criminal defense cases. including defending former APD Officer Dominic Perez who was one of 2 APD SWAT Officers who  shot and killed homeless camper James Boyd in the Sandia Foothills.  He served as an Assistant Bernalillo County District Attorney from 1994 through 1997. Bregman was an elected Albuquerque City Council from 1995 until 1999 and has a served as Deputy State Auditor for the State of New Mexico.  Bregman unsuccessfully ran for Commissioner of Public Lands and Mayor of Albuquerque. Sources have confirmed that Bregman is making a serious run for the Governor’s appointment and has been making calls to secure support within the defense bar and the Democratic party.

Damon Martinez, a former United States Attorney for New Mexico. From 2000 to 2013, Martinez was an Assistant United State Attorney. In 2014, he  was appointed United States Attorney by President Barack Obama  and unanimously confirmed in the United States Senate in 2014.  Martinez led the US Attorney’s Office during the Department of Justice’s investigation and settlement agreement with the city of Albuquerque over the Albuquerque Police Department when the  Department of Justice found excessive use of deadly force and a culture of aggression within APD.  On March 11, 2017 Martinez resigned as US Attorney and went into private practice.  In 2018, Martinez was an unsuccessful candidate for the First Congressional District to replace Michelle Lujan Grisham. Martinez is currently an Albuquerque Deputy City Attorney who works as APD’s Chief Policy Advisor and on legislative matters for Mayor Tim Keller and the city and lobbies in Santa Fe during legislative sessions.

Private Attorney Ed Perea, a retired APD  Police Commander.  Perea became an attorney after 24 years of service as  police officer. Perea ran for District Attorney against Raúl Torrez in 2016.  Perea has served as a Special Assistant Prosecutor in the 13th District. He’s also served as Executive Director of the Center for Law, Policy and Public Safety and has taught at CNM.

Joseph Gandert, a private Albuquerque attorney.  Gandert is a native New Mexican and has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1977. He is a seasoned  trial attorney. He was with the New Mexico Public Defenders Office for 13 years and headed the Juvenile Division.  He was  with the Federal Public defenders office for 20 plus years. Mr. Gandert is now in the private practice of law and works with his son’s law practice.

Joseph Gribble, an Albuquerque attorney. Gribble is a 1977 graduate of University of New Mexico law school.   Mr. Gribble has extensive experience in criminal and civil litigation and he  lists his areas of practice to include  Federal and State Criminal Defense work,  Commercial Litigation,  Civil Litigation, Medical Malpractice,  Wrongful Death and  Employment Law.  Mr. Gribble started his career in the District Attorneys Office where his work resulted in the successful prosecution and death sentence of a serial killer. Upon leaving the District Attorney’s Office as a Deputy District Attorney he settled into his current private practice. Mr. Gribble has handled hundreds of criminal cases throughout the State of New Mexico and in all jurisdictions, including by not limited to metropolitan, magistrate, district, tribal and federal courts.

Evan Cochnar, is a 2006 graduate of the University of New Mexico where he earned a B.A. in International Relations, Political Science and History.  He is a 2009 graduate of Syracuse University College of Law. He  has served as an Assistant District Attorney in the 11th Judicial District from 2011 to 2020.  He currently works for the New Mexico Risk Management Division.

Assistant Attorney General Ashley Schweizer. Schweizer was appointed an Assistant Attorney General by Attorney General Hector Balderas. She is currently handling the prosecution of serial shoplifter Isaiah Martinez who  is responsible for stealing nearly $60,000 worth of designer sunglasses and has been charged with 21 counts related to his brazen crime spree, as well as conspiracy and aggravated assault. She is also one of the prosecutors handling the prosecution of former Maintenance Technician/Detention Officer Nathan D. Sena.   Sena was employed by the GEO Group, Inc. and was a detention officer for a New Mexico Women’s Recovery Academy treatment facility. It is alleged he  preyed upon women under his control at the facility and  engaged in multiple sexual acts, which resulted in eight charges of criminal sexual penetration as a person in a position of authority.

Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney Josh Boone who was appointed by Raul Torrez to  oversees the Metropolitan Division. Boone earned his B.A. in political science from the University of New Mexico in 2000, and his  law degree  from the University of New Mexico School of Law in 2004.  In  2014, Boone was a  candidate for the 2nd Judicial District Court in New Mexico. He ran for election to the Bernalillo Metropolitan Court, but lost the 2014 primary. Boone  has developed and  posted on the internet a website entitled “Joshua Boone for District Attorney” thereby making him an announced candidate to run in 2025.  The website is a slick campaign web site for a candidate for office. The link to the Josh Boone for District Attorney web page is boonefornewmexico.com.

Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney John Duran, who oversees the District Attorneys’ Major Crimes Division. From 2003 to 2013 John Duran was  a Bernalillo County Assistant District Attorney.  From 2013 to 2016 he was a Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court Judge.  He was appointed to Division 8 of the  Metro court on March 28, 2013, by Governor Susana Martinez (R).  He was defeated in his bid for re-election in November 2014 but was reappointed to Division 3 on the court soon after.  He ran for election in 2016 but was defeated in the primary on June 7, 2016.  Duran filed as a Democratic candidate in 2016, but he ran as a Republican in 2014.

Bernalillo County Deputy District Attorney Diana Garcia who oversees the DA’s Juvenile Division. She has been with office for 16 years. (No further information could be found.)

The link to the Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2554895/nine-attorneys-respond-to-governors-call-for-da-applications.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

One thing is for certain, the Governor is cutting it awfully close with making the appointment seeing as the vacancy will occur come January 1 when Raul Torrez is sworn into office as New Mexico Attorney General.

Given the Albuquerque’s  spiking violent crime and murder rates, the appointment of a new Bernalillo County District Attorney is one of the most consequential appointments the Governor will ever make. There is very little room for error on the appointment which is likely one of the biggest reasons for extending the application deadline and seeking to increase the pool of applicants.

Great work experience and academic qualifications for the job does not necessarily make a person a good fit for an elected position such as District Attorney which is as high profile as they come.  Each one of the 14 applicants possesses positive and negative skill sets and different types of qualifications for the job.  In other words, there is no one perfect candidate suited for the job who has applied, but that is usually the case with any elected or appointed politcal position.

The next Bernalillo County District Attorney needs to have strong prosecutorial and case management experience, personnel management experience, be a proven trial attorney, have the ability to work well with all stakeholders within the criminal justice system, including the courts, the defense bar, law enforcement and the legislature and be an effective leader who can attract attorneys to work for the office.

This is one appointment where politics and higher ambitions for office should absolutely not play any role. What should play a role is a real commitment to the office and the criminal justice system itself.  The Governor needs to appoint one who she feels is the most qualified candidate, not the most political.

On December 23, the Albuquerque Journal published on its front page, above the fold, a remarkable story entitled “APD looks to curtail police shootings” with the sub headline “Officers have shot 18 people so far this year, resulting in 10 deaths”.  The news story reads in part as follows:

“In the midst of a spike in shootings by its officers the Albuquerque Police Department is working to change policies so they can use “less-lethal” force earlier in an encounter – in the hope of preventing the need for deadly force.

Additionally, the department’s executive staff and city attorneys will review this year’s 18 shootings by officers to see if they can identify and address any trends. Among those incidents 10 people were killed and three were injured. In five cases no one was struck.

The number of shootings has alarmed advocates, and discussions of the increase dominated a recent federal court hearing on APD’s reform effort. Last year APD officers shot at 10 people, killing four, injuring five, and missing one.

But Chief Harold Medina said he’s been contemplating changes for a while and APD has already been working on them with the Department of Justice and the independent monitoring team overseeing the reforms.”

The December 23 Journal article quotes APD Chief Medina as follows:

“We had already been trying to change the policy. …  But as we heard everybody’s concerns during the [December 6 federal Court] hearing, I really felt there was a way we could do this better. That’s when we got these ideas of we should meet to look at all the cases at once as a whole. …  One of my big frustrations right now is our processes take so long – like we identified issues but by the time we get everything approved through everybody it takes months.”

Medina said he wants APD’s executive staff and city attorneys to meet and look for trends among this year’s 18 police shootings and identify changes to be made.  Medina said this:

“Right now they go through the individual cases and if somebody there can remember or they tie into something in the past, that’s a benefit and they could try to make it a trend. … We are now purposely putting all the cases in front of them … and they’re going to have little different data points that we could look at and the goal is to look at them all together at the same time and see if they can identify anything that’s of a concern.”

The link to them full Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2559458/apd-to-address-spike-in-police-shootings-by-changing-policies-looking-for-trends.html

VIOLENCE AGAINST POLICE OFFICERS ON THE RISE

It was on August 19, 2021 that 4 Albuquerque Police Officers were shot and  injured following a shooting in northeast Albuquerque. The shooting happened as officers responded to a robbery by the Dutch Bros. near Mountain and Juan Tabo. Two suspects were arrested.

On August 21, 2021 it was  reported that one officer was in critical condition after being shot in the base of the neck above their bulletproof vest. A second officer was shot in the arm, third officer was shot in the center of his bulletproof vest.  The fourth officer was injured with either shrapnel or glass in the eye.  APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said at the time that  an APD service aide rendered aid to the officer that was shot in the arm  by  using a tourniquet to save the officer’s life.

Several APS schools including Kennedy Middle School, Jackson Middle School, Chelwood Elementary School, Tomasita Elementary School, McCollum Elementary School and Manzano High School were ordered to shelter in place after the shooting.  Authorities from Sandoval County, Valencia County, Rio Rancho County, FBI, the Bernalillo County Sherriff Office, NM State Police and the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office were called in to assist. The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office (BCSO) for its part confirmed that a fatal crash on I-40 in the east mountains involved a person of interest in the case and said the person was fleeing from police when the crash happened.

There has been a rise in violence against police officers at the same time  APD recorded the 18 officer involve shootings this year. According the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), in 2021  New Mexico ranked second in the country only behind Montana for the number of officers assaulted per capita and the trend has continued this year. The organization reported it has seen 323 officers shot in the line of duty nationwide this year, a 13% increase since 2019. Of those officers, 60 died. According to the FOP, as of December 22, there were 5 officers shot in the state of New Mexico so far this year.

Albuquerque police Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos said the two may be correlated and he said this:

“That certainly may be a factor. I mean, it’s not lost on us that the violence against police officers is out there. It’s on the increase. Officers are being confronted with dangerous situations. They’re seeing a lot more guns on the streets and people willing to use guns.”

Bob Marinez is the past president of the State Fraternal Order of Police in New Mexico, and he said this:

“It’s a very dangerous situation today. …  We’re seeing an increase in attacks on police officers. A police officer can’t go out and have a lunch or dinner without fear of being attacked or assaulted.”

The link to quoted news source  material is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/fraternal-order-of-police-reports-increase-in-violence-against-officers/42324063

THE COURT APPROVED SETTLEMENT

It was om November 14, 2014 that the City of Albuquerque, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD)  and the United State Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a stipulated Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) after the DOJ  completed an 18^th month investigation of APD.  The DOJ found that APD had engaged in a pattern of excessive use of force and deadly force and that a “culture of aggression” existed within APD. The Court Approved Settlement Agreement mandates 271 police reforms, the appointment of a Federal Monitor and the filing of Independent Monitor’s reports (IMRs) on APD’s progress implementing the reforms.

On November 9, 2022, Federal Court Appointed Independent Monitor James Ginger filed his 16th Report on APD’s Compliance Levels with the settlement. The 16th reporting period  covers the time period of February 1, 2022, through July 31, 2022. The link to review the entire 16th Federal Monitors report is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/959-221109-imr-16.pdf

HEARING HELD ON 16^TH FEDERAL MONITOR’S REPORT

On December 6, Federal District Court James Browning, who oversees the settlement, held an all-day remote  hearing  to review the 16^th Federal Monitor’s report.   The Federal Monitor reported that as of the end of the IMR-16 reporting period, APD’s compliance levels are as follows:

Primary Compliance: 100% (No change)
Secondary Compliance: 99% (No change)
Operational Compliance: 80%. (10% increase from 70%)

Under the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement, once APD achieves a 95% compliance rate in the 3 identified compliance levels and maintains it for 2 consecutive years, the case can be dismissed. Originally, APD was to have come into compliance within 4 years and the case was to be dismissed in 2020.

During the December 6 hearing, Federal Monitor James Ginger reported that APD continues to make impressive gains in the compliance levels over the past year.  This is a complete reversal of  the downward trend found and reported in 3 previous monitor’s  reports.  Although it was reported during court hearing that APD is making  gains in in implementing the reforms, it was also reported that there have been more APD police officer shootings in 2022  than during any other year before.  In 2022, there have so far been 18 APD Police Officer involved shootings,10 of which were fatal.  In 2021 there were 10, four of which were fatal.

A review of shootings by APD police officers between 2018 and 2022 identified three common circumstances:

1. When officers are attempting to apprehend violent suspects;
2. When individuals are experiencing some kind of mental health episode;
3. When people with little criminal history are under the influence of drugs or alcohol and make bad decisions.

Albuquerque Police Department released data that shows  there have been 54 police shootings dating back to 2018. Of the cases reviewed, 85% involved people who were armed with a gun or a weapon that appeared to be a firearm.  About 55% of the cases involved people under the influence of drugs or alcohol, while only 2 cases in which intoxication did not play a role. Without toxicology tests, it was unknown whether drugs or alcohol played a role in the remainder of the cases.  Statewide, authorities said the number of shootings in which officers opened fire stands at 50 for the year.

Barron Jones, a member of APD Forward and a senior policy strategist with the American Civil Liberties Union in New Mexico, said that more  transparency is needed to better understand what, if anything, could be done to prevent shooting deaths at the hands of officers. Jones also said that  recent cases underscore the need for a statewide use-of-force policy that includes clear, consistent protocols for deescalating interactions with the public “to avoid these kinds of tragic incidents.”

The link to the quoted news source article is here:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/albuquerque-marks-record-number-police-shootings-2022-93084096

The last two years have also been two very violent years in the city.  The number of homicides in the city have broken all time records.  In 2021, there were 117 homicides, with  3 declared self defense reducing homicide number to 114. In 2022, there were 115 homicides as of  December 3, 2022. 

The spike in APD police shooting includes the years when the DOJ  found that APD had a pattern of excessive use of force and deadly force with a finding of a culture of aggression.  The increase in APD police officer shootings overshadowed the report on APD’s progress with the reforms and dominated the day long hearing.

Alexander Uballez, the U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, said this about the shootings:

“[My job]  will not be complete until there’s a substantial reduction in police shootings and fatalities.”

Paul Killebrew, the deputy chief of the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, acknowledged the frustrations.  He said that the DOJ wants to see how the city, APD,  the Civilian Police Oversight Agency, the Mental Health Response Advisory Committee, and the Force Review Board  respond to the spike.   Killebrew said this:

“The increase in officer involved shootings is unacceptable. … You see a spike in officer involved shootings and it feels like we’ve set back the clock by 10 years. … It’s clear from what we’ve heard today that it is inconsistent with the community’s values. … So we need to see action from the Albuquerque Police Department and from the groups [responsible to oversee APD] . From where we sit this is an ongoing crisis. This is an ongoing problem.”

APD Forward includes upwards of 20 organizations who have affiliated with each other in an effort to reform APD and implement the DOJ consent decree terms and reforms. Daniel Williams of APD Forward told Judge Browning that members of his group had been hoping to hear “concrete actionable steps that the city has taken” to address the increase in shootings by officers but were disappointed.

Taylor Rahn, an attorney on contract with the city to assist with implementation of the CASA, urged the court and the public to wait before passing judgment and said this:

“We recognize that concerns about the number of individuals who are suffering from some type of mental health issue during the use of force encounter is a pattern that the community is concerned about… The city will not jump to any conclusions and will allow all of the processes that are in place for independent review of individual incidents, officers and patterns to run their course.”

Over the past 18 months, 2 of the shootings have resulted in an officer being fired for violating APD policies.

Police Chief Harold Medina pointed out that the settlement agreement is meant to assess whether policies are in place to reduce an officer’s likelihood of using deadly force, whether officers are trained in those policies and whether they are being held accountable when they violate them.  Medina told the court:

“We will never 100% take out human errors, and we will always have officer misconduct. … This process was started for us to identify the officer misconduct and address the misconduct. … I don’t know if there’s ever been a period of time before in the Albuquerque Police Department when individuals were held as accountable. We will continue to hold individuals accountable. We will continue to monitor our policies. We will continue to monitor our training.”

Chief Medina told Judge Browning he has asked the executive staff and academy directors to see if there are missed opportunities for trainings or other tactics that could be used instead of deadly force.

The link to quoted news source material is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2555721/rise-in-police-shootings-worry-apd-reformers.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is no doubt that the community should be absolutely alarmed over the fact that there has been a spike in police officer involved shootings given the fact such shootings, and accompanying litigation and judgements against the city, is what brought the Department of Justice to the City in 2013 in the first place. When it comes to APD Police Officer Involved shootings, history is repeating itself despite millions spent and implementation of the settlement reforms over the last 8 years.  The community also needs to be alarmed over  how violence against police officers is also on the rise.

The city for the last 5 years has broken the record of number of homicides each year.  Crime rates in the city are also high across the board. According to the Albuquerque Police’s annual report on crime, there were 46,391 property crimes and 15,765 violent crimes recorded in 2021.  These numbers place Albuquerque among America’s most dangerous cities.  All residents are at increased risk of experiencing aggravated robbery, auto theft, and petty theft.  The chances of becoming a victim of property crime in Albuquerque are 1 in 20, an alarmingly high statistic. Simple assault, aggravated assault, auto theft, and larceny are just some of the most common criminal offenses in Albuquerque. Burglary and sex offense rates In Albuquerque are also higher than the national average.

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It’s because of the city’s overall crime rates that no one should be surprised that there have been more police officer involved shootings this past year and police are finding themselves in more predicaments where they feel the need  to protect themselves and not attempt to deescalated a situation and the use of force or not use deadly force.

The reality is that the city can expect the trend of police officer involve shootings to continue even if APD achieves 100% compliance of all 271 mandated police reforms under the settlement.