Albuquerque Police chief testifies that the police academy subjected cadet to harassment

Albuquerque’s top cop told jurors Thursday that a police academy cadet suffered unacceptable harassment when he was forced to razor-shave his head in front of his classmates.

Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina also testified that the police academy’s treatment of the cadet violated the department’s consent decree with the U.S. Department of Justice.

“You take somebody, you put them in front of their peers, you make them shave their head,” Medina told jurors. “What is the purpose of that? How is that going to make them a better police officer?”

Medina testified in a civil trial stemming from a 2023 policy that required male cadets at the police academy to razor-shave their heads each morning.

The 2nd Judicial District Court trial is scheduled to continue through Wednesday before Judge Joshua Allison.

The cadet, Joshua Vega, was forced to shave his head in front of classmates, who were required to perform physical exercises as a form of collective punishment, Medina testified.

“You don’t discipline people in front of others,” Medina told jurors. “I demand my academy classes do not single people out. They are treated with dignity. They are treated with respect.”

APD was under the consent decree in 2023, Medina testified. DOJ officials had criticized APD for holding noncertified cadets to higher standards than certified officers, he said.

“I have worked hard to try to change the culture of that academy,” Medina said.

The lawsuit was filed by seven APD officers who allege that they were illegally disciplined for terminating Josh Vega, the son of then-Cmdr. George Vega, who is now an APD deputy chief. Josh Vega was quickly reinstated to the academy and remains an APD officer.

Josh Vega was one of 128 cadets who entered the police academy in August 2023. At that time, Academy Cmdr. Joseph Viers instituted an “old school” policy that required male cadets to razor-shave their heads each morning.

Levi Monagle, an attorney for the officers, told jurors a training officer noticed that Vega had not razor-shaved his head on Aug. 16, 2023.

When confronted, the cadet first maintained that he had shaved, but later admitted that he had not, which was considered a “class-one” violation of lying, Monagle said.

Viers terminated Vega from the academy on Aug. 17 after an APD Internal Affairs investigation found that Vega had lied to the staff, the suit said.

That evening, the suit alleges, Cmdr. Vega had a phone conversation with Viers, the suit said. On Aug. 18, following a meeting between Viers and other APD leaders, Viers reversed his decision and reinstated Joshua Vega to the academy, it states.

Medina told jurors that he was on vacation in Hawaii at the time and received a text from George Vega alleging his son was harassed. APD hired an external attorney to investigate the incident and later found that Josh Vega had committed a “class-five” violation, which did not justify his termination from the academy, he said.

Academy staff were temporarily reassigned while the external investigation was underway, Medina said.

“Somehow all the blame came back towards me when I didn’t make a single decision on this,” he said.

Medina said he passed over Viers for promotion because of his handling of the incident.

“Joe Viers would be a deputy chief right now if he had not bungled this,” Medina testified. “I told Joe, I’m not promoting you because I hold you responsible for what happened at the academy.”

Outside the courtroom, Medina said the police academy scrapped the policy that required male cadets to razor-shave their heads immediately after the incident.