Feds to investigate use of force by Albuquerque police

Michael Winter, USA TODAY | USATODAY

The Justice Department on Tuesday opened an investigation into whether Albuquerque police officers routinely use excessive or deadly force.

Since 2010, officers have been involved in 25 shootings, 17 of them fatal, and video captured police assaulting suspects after they were subdued.

The Justice Department said the investigation -- civil, not criminal -- will examine whether the Albuquerque Police Department "engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force in violation of the Constitution and federal law." The probe will also review the department's policies, training, accountability systems, community engagement and external oversight of officers' use of force.

At a news conference, Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and Police Chief Ray Schultz pledged their cooperation, writes The Albuquerque Journal. Both pointed to "dozens of policy changes" that have been instituted in the past 18 months. They said they welcomed any "additional recommendations" from the Justice Department.

Among the changes: a police supervisor must respond immediately to "volatile scenes," all officers must carry Tasers, and all citizen contact must be recorded on lapel-mounted cameras.

Two months ago, the Journal notes, Schultz "directed his staff to prepare a report that showed APD has implemented more than 90 percent of the changes that the Justice Department required of police departments in New Orleans and Seattle after investigations in those cities."

The Associated Press highlights some notorious examples of officers' actions:

One video showed officers giving each other celebratory "belly bumps" after beating a suspected car thief in a parking garage. Another clip showed an officer illegally entering an apartment and using a stun gun on one suspect, then punching another suspect after he had surrendered.

The department also was forced to change its social media policy involving officers after a detective shot and killed a man last year and listed his occupation as "human waste disposal" on his Facebook page. The detective was later suspended and transferred out of the department's gang unit to field services.

The probe was announced by Assistant Attorney General Thomas Perez, head of civil rights division.

"Our goal is to search for the truth," he told the Journal earlier. "We're looking to see if there are systemic problems embedded in the culture of the department."

Last year, the mayor vetoed a City Council resolution that invited the Justice Department to investigate the police.

The Journal has background on the fatal shootings and a timeline.