The Albuquerque Police Department (APD) has fulfilled all stipulations outlined in the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, a significant landmark since the initiation of the reform process in January 2015.
Today, the Independent Monitoring Team responsible for overseeing the settlement agreement released its 19th report. The team concluded that APD had achieved "operational compliance" with all terms of the agreement. Consequently, APD has attained "full and effective compliance" under the agreement, implying that court supervision can be terminated as long as APD maintains adherence to these requirements. The report is scheduled for presentation in federal court in June.
Mayor Tim Keller commented on this achievement, stating, “The road to get here has not been easy, but we never gave up. We believed that real reform was possible. We believed that we could support law enforcement and maintain the highest standards of accountability, and we’ve done both.”
APD Chief Harold Medina expressed his gratitude towards his officers for their commitment to change and improvement. He said, “Most of all, I’d like to thank the officers who stayed with the Albuquerque Police Department and fought through these changes to make sure that we improved the services that we deliver to the citizens of the city of Albuquerque. Reform shall never end for any police department. We should always be evolving to see how we could become a better police department, more in tune with the community, and always changing to meet the needs of an ever-changing society.”
However, certain aspects of the settlement agreement pertaining to civilian oversight which are beyond APD's control have yet to be fulfilled. Despite this, today's report indicates that APD can progress towards self-monitoring with all remaining sections not already dismissed by the court.
The full report is available on APD’s website.
On Friday, Mayor Keller and Chief Medina will conduct a news conference to discuss further details about the status of the settlement agreement and the forthcoming steps for reform.
