(c) City Desk ABQ
Multiple Albuquerque Police Department officers are being investigated by federal authorities and more than 100 DWI cases have been dismissed “in the interest of justice.”
Late Thursday night, Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesman, released a statement saying that the department “has been working with the FBI for the past several months on an investigation involving members of the department.”
He said “due to the sensitive nature of the investigation,” some of the officers were put on administrative leave, and others will be temporarily reassigned within the department. He did not identify the officers.
“APD leadership is working closely with the FBI to ensure a complete and thorough investigation can be completed,” Gallegos said.
Earlier on Thursday, federal authorities conducted “law enforcement activity” at the Los Lunas home of an APD officer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office confirmed.
Spokeswoman Tessa Duberry said the activity was done “with the full cooperation of the Albuquerque Police Department” but she declined to comment further.
John D’Amato, an attorney with the Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association, said he was aware of a pending criminal investigation.
“No comment is the word of the day,” D’Amato said. “It’s developing and the facts are unclear.”
Meanwhile, the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office dismissed 144 DWI cases also on Thursday, “in deference to an ongoing federal investigation,” said spokeswoman Nancy Laflin.
She referred all further questions to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
The Law Offices of the Public Defender received a list of the dismissed cases Thursday afternoon.
“We immediately began identifying which clients are impacted and looking into whether there are other cases that may need additional scrutiny,” said Chief Public Defender Bennett Baur in a statement.
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This is why crime is out of control here. Who are we hiring for police officers? Why can’t they follow the law? Why are so many cases dismissed because the police made a mistake?
WOW!!! What a scoop. Kudos, and in the first week of the the paper. No mention on the Journal website, at least as of this moment. Way to go, Elise. Keep it up.