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The U.S. Justice Department is hosting a series of community forums around Albuquerque as federal authorities continue their probe into the city’s police department over excessive force claims.
Federal officials have scheduled community meetings Monday at the Barelas Community Center and Wednesday at Palo Duro Senior Center.
The forums are opportunities for residents to learn about the federal investigation into use of force by the Albuquerque Police Department and to allow residents to submit information, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
“The meeting will begin with a short informational briefing on DOJ’s civil authority to address police misconduct and the scope and nature of DOJ’s investigation of APD,” the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a letter to community members. “After that, individuals will have an opportunity to speak to DOJ attorneys and investigators in a more private setting about specific information or incidents they may have experienced or witnessed involving use of force by APD.”
The U.S. Justice Department announced in November it was investigating the police department after a string of officer-involved shootings and high-profile abuse cases alleging the use of excessive and deadly force. The investigation came to New Mexico’s biggest city after protests, lawsuits and demands for wide-scale agency overhaul from civil rights advocates over more than two dozen officer-involved shootings since 2010.
A report from an outside group in 2011 called for changes in training and other procedures, including requiring officers to undergo more training on how to calm potentially violent situations and changing hiring criteria to focus on individuals with good problem-solving and communications skills. The report also made several recommendations on helping police deal with the mentally ill.
Federal officials have said the review has no timeline but similar probes have taken around a year.
Jewel Hall, president of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Center Board and a vocal critic of the department, said she’s going to wait and see what comes out of the meetings.
“It’s still too early to determine if any of this is going to make a difference in our community,” said Hall. “I just hope people attend these meetings because it’s everyone’s business.”
