U.S. Justice Department officials in Washington, D.C., have received three inch-thick binders that Albuquerque community leaders say demonstrate a long-standing pattern of civil rights abuses by the city's police department.
Justice investigators also have been inundated with telephone calls and video-taped stories from the families and friends of some of the 20 men Albuquerque Police Department officers have shot since January 2010. Fourteen of them have died. The majority have been Hispanic men in their 20s and 30s.
But the Justice Department still hasn't decided whether to launch a full-scale "pattern or practice" investigation into APD, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Hoses told a meeting of community groups at the Don Newton Taylor Ranch Community Center on Monday evening.
"I know you want to hear answers, but the decision (whether to investigate) is made by DOJ in Washington," said Hoses, who heads the civil division of the Albuquerque-based U.S. Attorney's Office. "Much information has been conveyed to DOJ, and it is under review."
He told the 60 or so people at the meeting, which was hosted by the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center Task Force on Social Justice for Public Safety, that two investigators in Washington have been assigned to the review.
In addition to the shootings, APD has been in the spotlight because of officers posting offensive comments on social media websites.
The Justice Department receives police misconduct complaints from advocacy groups, private citizens, news accounts and cities themselves. Federal officials decide whether to start a full investigation by determining if a "pattern or practice" violation has occurred, meaning "police misconduct is the agency's 'standard operating procedure' -- the regular, rather than the unusual practice."
Investigations can take up to a year and a half. If it finds there has been a violation, the Justice Department works with the cities to develop a plan of action. If that doesn't work, the department can sue the city for changes.
Mayor Richard Berry vetoed a City Council bill that called for a DOJ inquiry, saying it wasn't necessary.
Monday night's meeting included personal stories from people who say they've experienced "APD brutality" firsthand, families of men APD officers have shot and a summary of a researcher's study that looked at APD officer-involved shootings and other "corruption" dating back to 1989. Neither APD nor the city was represented.
Copyright 2011 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
McClatchy-Tribune News Service
