Albuquerque agrees to court oversight of police
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The city of
Albuquerque has agreed to let both a court and an independent monitor oversee
reform of its troubled police department, officials said Thursday.
The Department of Justice and Mayor Richard
Berry signed off on a framework of principles for addressing the eight problem
areas Justice officials identified in a scathing report on police practices
earlier this year.
Attorney General Eric Holder said the agreement
"marks an important step forward in addressing the unreasonable use of
deadly force uncovered in our investigation into the Albuquerque Police
Department."
Among the findings released in April: officers
too frequently used deadly force on people who posed a minimal threat and used
a higher level of force too often on those with mental illness.
Albuquerque police have shot 41 people since
2010, 27 of them fatally.
The agreement calls for improvements in
recruiting, training, use of force policies, interactions between officers and
the mentally ill, the handling of internal investigations and civilian
complaints, management and community engagement.
It also say the city is committed to working
with the Justice Department to craft a court-enforceable agreement to address
the problems, and to have an independent monitor brought in to oversee the
reforms once the plan is approved and filed with a federal court.
Berry said the agreement shows "we are
rolling in the same direction."
U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez said the idea is
"to go to court together, instead of as adversaries."
Albuquerque joins a growing list of cities
targeted by the Justice Department over allegations of brutality and violations
of constitutional rights. Seattle, Denver, New Orleans and Los Angles are among
others whose departments have operated under oversight from independent
monitors amid similar complaints.
In the Albuquerque probe, federal investigators
focused on 37 shootings, finding that the majority were unreasonable and
violated constitutional rights. They also uncovered a significant number of
instances in which officers used less lethal measures such as Tasers in an
unconstitutional manner.
Shortly after the results of the nearly
two-year investigation were released in April, the department saw a new spike
in fatal shootings, including that of a homeless camper who was fired on as he
appeared to be surrendering. Video of that shooting sparked national outrage
and led to series of sometimes violent protests, an attempted takeover of a
city council meeting and a sit-in at the mayor's office.
The latest shooting came this week, when
officers killed a 33-year-old man who they say pulled a gun as they were
attempting to arrest him on a federal warrant. Jeremy Joe also was facing
charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon stemming
for a case earlier this year.
