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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Department of Justice officials said they were “perplexed” by what they said were false statements that Albuquerque police and city officials made shortly after the monitor’s second report, which came out in March.

U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez said last month in a letter to Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry and City Council President Dan Lewis that the DOJ never told police not to look at other departments for model policies and, in fact, encouraged Albuquerque police officials to do so.

“The impression is incorrect, and we are perplexed about how this belief came to be,” Martinez said.

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Martinez was writing in response to two public meetings last month when city and police officials said the policy-writing process within the department wasn’t on the right track, because the police department didn’t think they could use other police departments’ policies as resources when rewriting rules detailing how Albuquerque police do their jobs.

“It was our understanding we were not allowed to, or should not, use model policies,” said APD’s Assistant Chief Robert Huntsman in response to questions from city councilors.

City Attorney Jessica Hernandez also made similar statements at a council study session.

Albuquerque police are rewriting about 30 policies as a result of a DOJ investigation that found Albuquerque police have a pattern of excessive force and a culture of aggression. The reforms aim to change the way Albuquerque police use force, investigate themselves, interact with the community and other aspects of policing.

To do that, Martinez said the DOJ has encouraged Albuquerque police to review policies from other departments and draw from what are considered to be the “best practices,” a term that was defined and included 15 times in a settlement agreement between DOJ and the city.

James Ginger, the independent monitor overseeing police reform, was critical of Albuquerque police’s policy-writing efforts in his first two reports on the reform process, which led city councilors to criticize and ask questions of department leaders.

Hernandez said last week that the department is now making progress with policy revisions. She said the confusion that led to Martinez’s letter was just a misunderstanding.

“Whatever the reason for the misunderstanding, the parties have clarified the issue together and are moving forward,” she said. “There is nothing to gain by trying to assign blame for the misunderstanding.”

Lewis said in an interview that blaming city officials wasn’t helpful.

“This letter clearly states there was a misunderstanding. Regardless of who’s at fault, there’s no point in blaming anyone for it. What’s the point of that?” Lewis said.

He said that, while the monitor’s first two reports have shown that Albuquerque police “are clearly not on the right track,” he said there been some recent positive signs. At a recent forum in Albuquerque, Ginger said that Albuquerque police’s command staff appear committed to reform.

Ginger also said the city has successfully rewritten about one third of the 30 or so reforms they are required to change .