The city of Albuquerque has reported that despite a rise in arrests, the use of force by officers from the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) has declined. The APD, which is currently under a Court-Approved Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, is seeking to alter its officers' approach to using force during arrests.
The APD has seen a significant reduction in use-of-force incidents by 44% since 2020, resulting from extensive policy changes and enhanced training. Despite initial declines in arrests during the 2020 pandemic, there has been a consistent increase of 28% in arrests since 2021. Out of the 525 investigations conducted in 2023, only 16 cases were identified as being out-of-policy. To oversee reform efforts, policy revisions and rigorous investigations, the APD established the Office of the Superintendent of Police Reform and a Compliance Bureau. According to a press release by the city of Albuquerque, Chief Harold Medina introduced a systematic approach to investigations involving sergeants for Level 1 incidents and a specialized team for Level 2 and Level 3 incidents.
"What’s most important to me is officers are doing more proactive policing and they are using force properly in the vast majority of the arrests they make," said Medina according to a press release by the city of Albuquerque. "While rare, force is necessary during some arrests. And when officers use force, only 3% of these incidents violated our policies."
Medina's career with APD began in 1995 after graduating from the University of New Mexico. He retired as a Commander in 2014 with several accomplishments including achieving a 95% compliance rate in decreasing illegal sales to underage youth, reducing property crimes through community policing principles and earning recognition from Mothers Against Drunk Driving. After serving as Chief of Police for the Pueblo of Laguna, he returned to APD as Deputy Chief in 2017. In March 2021, Medina was appointed as the permanent Chief of APD with unanimous confirmation from the Albuquerque City Council, according to the APD webpage provided by the city of Albuquerque.