Albuquerque Protesters Try to Arrest Police Chief at City Council Meeting

It seems the Albuquerque Police Department (APD)
is working faster than the city government in the wake of a
Department of Justice (DOJ) report identifying a probable pattern
and practice of civil rights abuses by city cops. A SWAT team shot
and killed Armand Martin, who was reportedly armed, during a
stand-off stemming from a domestic dispute. It was at least the
fourth fatal shooting by Albuquerque police this year, and the
second since the DOJ report.

Some residents in Albuquerque have had enough. While the city
council president insisted the council was going to vote on “some
Charter amendment dealing with the organization of the police
department” at a meeting Monday night, the meeting was
adjourned earlier and the city council members and police chief
fled the building when protesters tried to execute an “arrest
warrant” against the chief. What happened next, via
KOAT in Albuquerque:

A “People’s Assembly of Albuquerque” passed three
resolutions while in the chambers. One was no confidence votes
against [Mayor Richard] Berry, Rob Perry and for an immediate
resignation of [the police chief, Gordon] Eden. Another was to have
lapel cameras worn by Albuquerque police officers at all times when
encountering civilians. Another was the implementation of an
independent civilian oversight committee with the powers to
discipline, hire and fire any officers.

The police chief said he didn’t find the protest helpful. “We
are working hard to make proactive improvements now and in
conjunction with DOJ recommendations,” he told KOAT. While the APD
released some lapel video from the most recent shooting, which
showed two handguns under Martin, it did not have video that showed
the actual shooting. Meanwhile lapel video from the previous
post-DOJ shooting, of
19-year-old Mary Hawkes, was unavailable. The police officer
who fatally shot her had not turned on his camera.

While the DOJ report “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,” it
stressed the findings shouldn’t be taken to mean that cops
should “needlessly risk” their lives or safety, and that they
should keep getting home safely each night. No APD officers have
been charged for any of the misconduct identified in the
report.