City councilor files complaint to investigate police chief’s alleged misconduct

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — An Albuquerque city councilor has filed a complaint against the police chief, accusing him of potential misconduct.

City Councilor Louie Sanchez wants the New Mexico Department of Public Safety and the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy to investigate a crash involving APD Chief Harold Medina and an innocent driver. It happened back in February, leaving that driver injured and his vintage Ford Mustang destroyed.

Sanchez claims the chief intentionally did not turn on his body camera while at the scene. He alleges that violates a public safety accountability bill that requires officers to wear body cameras and record while interacting with the community. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed that bill into law in 2020.

In a statement, Councilor Sanchez said, “The chief should hold himself to a higher standard than that of his rank and file, not lower. We are at a crossroads where officer morale is at an all-time low and public trust might even be lower,” adding that, “The chief’s actions were what brought the U.S. Department of Justice oversight in the first place.”