A package of federal appropriations bills that cleared both houses of Congress this week contains hundreds of millions of dollars for New Mexico, with a heavy emphasis on public safety in the Albuquerque metropolitan area. U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján issued news releases Friday detailing the legislation, which now heads to President […]
Category: Courts, Justice & Safety
Posted inOpinion
Against the odds: APD’s DWI unit rises from the ashes
When I first heard about the sprawling corruption scandal that gutted the Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI unit in 2024, I, like a lot of people, assumed the specialized unit was finished. A decades-long bribery scheme involving nearly the entire squad, hundreds of dismissed cases, officers on the district attorney’s “Brady list” of untrustworthy cops, it […]
Reader-supported
DWI cases rebound in Bernalillo County court after APD corruption scandal
DWI cases filed in Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court reached a multiyear high in 2025 and APD arrests are on the rise following a decades-long corruption scandal that has decimated its specialized DWI unit, a City Desk investigation found. The court recorded 2,404 total DWI filings in 2025, consisting of 2,360 misdemeanor and 44 felony cases, […]
Reader-supported
APD Interim Chief reorganizes department, eliminates 12 command positions
Albuquerque Police Department Interim Chief Cecily Barker announced a reorganization that includes new executive appointments and the elimination of 12 command staff positions, expected to save the city about $2.4 million. Three officers were promoted to interim executive roles: Luke Languit as Deputy Chief of the Field Services Bureau, Mike Hernandez as Deputy Chief of […]
Reader-supported
APD shootings rise as federal oversight ends
Albuquerque Police police officers shot 15 individuals last year, according to department statistics, an increase from each of the previous two years when the department was under federal oversight. Data examined by City Desk ABQ shows last year’s total number of police shootings is up from 13 the previous year and 14 in 2023. Those […]
Reader-supported
APD reports significant decline in homicide
Albuquerque Police Department officials report 63 homicide incidents in calendar year 2025, with a total of 65 people killed. That total is down by more than one-third from 2024, when 98 people were killed in the city. Police say 87%, or 55 of 63, of 2025 homicide cases have been solved, along with 25 cases […]
Posted inBernalillo County
Firefighters agreed to the Sheriff’s drug testing demands but still can’t fly
Sheriff John Allen said he removed Bernalillo County firefighters from the Metro Air Support Unit because they refused to meet his drug testing standards, but county records show firefighters agreed to those same standards in July and the sheriff still has not allowed them back on the unit. Allen quietly pulled firefighters from the helicopter […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Torrance County
Federal judge orders Iranian bodybuilder’s release from New Mexico jail
This article was originally published by Source NM. By Patrick Lohmann A federal judge in Albuquerque on Monday ordered the immediate release of an Iranian man held at an Estancia immigration lockup for the last six months, agreeing with his lawyers that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency was not acting quickly enough to deport […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Crime down, trust low: Medina exits APD after rocky 5 years
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina will retire Dec. 31, ending a five-year run defined by controversy. Medina announced his decision on Wednesday and told APD commanders during his final staff meeting on Tuesday, according to a city press release. His tenure included a crash that seriously injured a civilian, a City Desk investigation that found […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
National Guard quietly “winding down” APD aid this week
Six months after National Guard troops began assisting the Albuquerque Police Department in an unprecedented move, the city confirmed Tuesday the program is winding down this week — though officials never publicly announced the conclusion of the more than $2 million effort. Asked by City Desk, APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos confirmed in an email late […]