A closer look at officers recently fired from APD

“I think it’s more important, now more than ever in our department’s recent history, that we remain as transparent and give as much information as we can at the time when it’s available,” Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina said after an officer shot a suspect in September of last year.

On that night, APD officers were chasing Gabriel Garcia. Police believe he was trying to break into a gas station.

Officer Quan La was chasing Garcia, who according to APD, was throwing rocks at the officer, and last week, APD fired La for violating its deadly use of force policy in that shooting.

He’s just the most recent officer to be fired from APD. Kenneth Skeens was also fired earlier this month.

Skeens was fired for what APD called the “unlawful arrest” of a man in a Target store, back in August of last year.

The man who was arrested was later found incompetent.

Also, late last year, APD fired officer Jerry Arnold as a police officer. The department said Arnold violated its deadly use of force policy during a shooting.

Arnold didn’t have a clear view of the suspect during a chase, who was unarmed, according to APD. The shooting happened last April.

These firings come after thorough internal investigations by the department, and independent monitor reviews of shootings with police officers by the Department of Justice, APD said.

APD said it has kept Arnold on in a civilian capacity, heading the APD bait car program. APD uses civilians in this program to free up detectives.