Albuquerque police fire commander, another officer resigns amid DWI corruption probe

The Albuquerque Police Department has fired the commander of Internal Affairs, and a former DWI officer resigned during an ongoing investigation into corruption.

APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Thursday that Cmdr. Mark Landavazo was terminated for violating department policies, and officer Neill Elsman, who was formerly with the DWI unit, resigned from the department on Tuesday after returning from military leave.

Landavazo and Elsman were both being investigated as part of an APD probe into allegations that DWI officers worked with a local attorney to get drunken driving cases dismissed in exchange for money and other favors.

“I said we would leave no stone unturned with these investigations,” APD Chief Harold Medina said in a statement. “We will continue to follow the evidence and ensure everyone is held accountable.”

The FBI is also investigating the allegations as a criminal matter. No one has been charged, but U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez has said the probe focuses on alleged wrongdoing by “certain” APD officers and others.

The DWI allegations came to light after FBI agents searched the homes of officers Harvey Johnson and Honorio Alba Jr., the law office of defense attorney Thomas Clear III and the home of Clear’s paralegal, Ricardo Mendez, in January.

Because the officers’ credibility could potentially be questioned, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman’s office dismissed nearly 200 DWI cases that it had filed and were pending at the time of the FBI searches.

Landavazo is the first officer to be fired related to APD’s internal probe.

Including Landavazo, nine officers have been placed on leave, and seven of those have resigned or retired in the past several months, including Elsman and officers Daren DeAguero, Alba, Joshua Montaño, Nelson Ortiz, Johnson and Lt. Justin Hunt.

All seven resigned before they were supposed to be interviewed as part of the Internal Affairs investigation.

Landavazo was placed on leave in February due to a separate investigation that came out of the probe into DWI corruption.

“Landavazo was investigated for three violations of APD policies,” Gallegos said on Thursday, without specifying which policies. “He was disciplined for two of the violations, and he was terminated following the completion of the third investigation.”

Gallegos said Internal Affairs investigators were waiting to schedule an interview with Elsman when he returned from military leave.

“He was informed he had to return to work at APD this week, but he resigned on July 30. Elsman will still be asked to appear for a voluntary interview with APD Internal Affairs detectives,” he said.