Nearly 10-Years Of DOJ Reforms, What's Changed For APD?

The Albuquerque Police Department is nearing a decade of reform efforts under a settlement agreement with the Department of Justice. The DOJ released findings of its investigation into APD in 2014, the same year the department came under intense scrutiny for police use of force and officer-involved shootings.

This week on the podcast, Chris & Gabby discuss the years-long reform efforts with APD’s Chief, Harold Medina. Today, APD says it is very close to meeting its goals for a reformed police department by DOJ’s standards. What does the reform process look like behind the scenes? How has the department and culture overall changed in the last decade? 

Here is a link to the full April 2014 news conference where the Department of Justice announced its findings in its investigation of APD. Here's a link to the full October 2014 news conference where APD and the DOJ announced a joint settlement agreement. To read the Department of Justice's full findings letter in its APD investigation, click here.

KRQE News 13 has extensive reporting of the DOJ's findings and settlement agreement on it's YouTube channel. Much of it can be found at this link.

**A special note: This episode of the New Mexico News Podcast was produced and recorded ahead of the department's recent announcement of several officers being placed on leave amid a new federal investigation aside from the department's reform efforts.

We appreciate our listeners. Send your feedback or story ideas to hosts chris.mckee@krqe.com or gabrielle.burkhart@krqe.com. We're also on Twitter (X), Facebook, & Instagram at @ChrisMcKeeTV and @gburkNM. For more on this episode and all of our prior episodes, visit our podcast website: KRQE.com/podcasts.