The U.S. Department of Justice
is set to release its report Thursday on the troubled Albuquerque Police
Department and could mandate federal oversight and reforms costing the city
millions of dollars, steps it's required of other law enforcement agencies it's
scrutinized.
The announcement will follow a
more than yearlong investigation into possible civil rights violations and
excessive use of force by Albuquerque officers. Complaints from local advocacy
groups helped launch the inquiry.
If a monitor is appointed,
Albuquerque would join cities including Detroit, Los Angeles, New Orleans and
Seattle that are subject to federal oversight.
The Albuquerque Police
Department has faced intense criticism for 37 shootings by officers since 2010
— more than 20 of them deadly.
Federal officials have released
few details of the Albuquerque investigation but conducted hundreds of
interviews with officials and residents.
Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry
has asked the federal agency to expedite its review and aid in reforms. His
request followed a violent protest last month of the fatal shooting of a
homeless man who had threatened to kill officers. He was gathering his
belongings and turning away when officers opened fire, helmet camera video
showed.
Scrutiny of the Albuquerque
force is one of 15 investigations of police departments launched during
President Barack Obama's first term.
In 2010, New Orleans Mayor
Mitch Landrieu asked the Justice Department to conduct an investigation into
allegations of constitutional violations, corruption and discriminatory
policies in the city's police department. The federal agency proposed a consent
decree — a legally binding document in which a city promises to adhere to and
maintain whatever reforms the Justice Department orders.
The cost of instituting the
city's consent decree was estimated at about $55 million over five years.
In 2012, federal officials
found Portland, Ore., police engaged in a pattern of excessive force against
people with mental illnesses. Federal investigators and the city reached a
settlement calling for changes to police policies on use of force, stun guns,
training, discipline and oversight. It also called for restructuring police
crisis intervention training and faster internal inquiries into cases of police
misconduct.
The Portland reforms were
estimated to cost $3 million to $5 million a year.
In Albuquerque, officials said
this week that they welcomed the Justice Department announcement and were
prepared to negotiate with federal officials over a possible monitor.
"As the Albuquerque Police
Department has done for the past several years, we will continue to work
cooperatively with the DOJ in order to implement the best practices for our
community," Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said in a statement.