Surprise! Feds Find Pattern of Excessive Force in Albuquerque PD

The Department of Justice (DOJ), which opened an
investigation into the use of force at the Albuquerque, New Mexico,
police department in late 2012, announced today that its
“exhaustive review” has “determined that there is reasonable cause
to believe that the Albuquerque Police Department is engaged in a
pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including the use of
unreasonable deadly force.”  

That conduct, Acting Assistant General Jocelyn Samuels explained
in
remarks on the findings earlier today, would violate the
Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994, which she
described as “a powerful civil rights law that has allowed us to
reform troubled police departments across the country,” noting work
the DOJ has done in Pittsburgh (its first case), Cincinnati (opened in
2001 after the fatal police shooting of
Timmy Thomas led to riots), and Los Angeles (which it
investigated more
than a decade ago but could probably investigate again).
Samuels also noted ongoing reviews and partnerships with
departments in places like Portland, Oregon (where the DOJ
reached an agreement on reform with cops and the city last
year) and Puerto Rico (with whose police department the DOJ
entered into an agreement on reform in 2012).

In Albuquerque the DOJ blamed “organizational deficiencies” for
causing a systemic pattern or practice of abuse, specifically
finding that:

Officers use deadly force in an unconstitutional
manner.  Our investigation looked at officer-involved
shootings that resulted in fatalities from 2009 to 2012 and found
that a majority of them were unreasonable and violated the Fourth
Amendment to the United States Constitution.  We found that
officers used deadly force against people who did not pose an
immediate threat of death or serious harm to officers or others,
and against people who posed a threat only to themselves.  In
fact, sometimes it was the conduct of the officers themselves that
heightened the danger and escalated the need to use force.

We found that officers use other types of less lethal force,
especially electronic control weapons, or Tasers, in an
unconstitutional manner.  Our investigation looked beyond just
the use of deadly force and found a significant number of improper
uses of force in our review of over 200 force reports generated
between 2009 and early 2013.  We found that officers routinely
fired their Tasers, which discharge 50,000 volts of electricity,
against people who were passively resisting and non-threatening or
who were unable to comply with orders due to their mental
state.  Indeed, we found that encounters between police
officers and persons with mental illness or in crisis too
frequently resulted in a use of force or a higher level of force
than necessary.

Albuquerque has one of the deadliest police departments by
population. In the last four years Albuquerque police
shot more people than New York City police did, despite New
York being 16 times larger than Albuquerque. Tensions in Albquerque
came to a head last month after the fatal shooting of a homeless
camper was
caught on helmet cam and sparked
anti-police brutality protests to which police responded with
tear gas and a SWAT team.

The DOJ will now work with the city and police department of
Albuquerque on various reforms and has also referred some of the
police shootings of the last four years, including that of homeless
camper James Boyd,  to the DOJ’s Criminal Section.

Nevertheless, Powers found it important to address police
officers directly in her remarks today, to tell them it’s not
really about them:

To the women and men of the Albuquerque Police
Department, we know your work is difficult and that you face
dangers, known and unknown, when you hit the streets every day to
keep this city safe.  We recognize that many of you are
dedicated public servants who wear your badge with
distinction.  We do not intend our findings today to mean that
you must needlessly risk your lives or safety.  You must come
home safely to your family and loved ones.  When you took your
oath as officers, you were empowered to use reasonable force,
including deadly force, to protect yourself, your partners, and the
public.