by Joshua Bowling, Searchlight New Mexico In the past decade, reforming the Albuquerque Police Department has cost nearly $40 million and generated 5,600 pages of oversight reports under the federal government’s effort to address the force’s excessive violence. But what does the city have to show for it? While the department touts an internal culture […]
Search results
Posted inCommentary
DA: Albuquerque Police Officers Charged with Murder in Shooting of Homeless Man
[button icon=”tags”]Analysis & Opinion[/button] “The process of healing also needs to include the pursuit of truth, not for the sake of opening old wounds, but rather as a necessary means of promoting justice, healing and unity,” Pope Francis, speaking on Jan. 12, 2015 in Sri Lanka Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg has charged two Albuquerque […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety
Governor orders National Guard to Albuquerque to help police (Updated)
By Matthew Reichbach Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will deploy members of the New Mexico National Guard to Albuquerque to help police address crime in the city. The governor made the announcement Tuesday, and it came after a request from Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina. She said she would deploy between 60 and 70 members […]
Posted inUncategorized
Albuquerque unveils new program to improve response to domestic violence calls to police
On the heels of a spike in domestic violence over the Thanksgiving holiday, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller introduced a new Albuquerque Domestic Abuse Response Team, or DART, program. Keller held a press conference earlier this month to introduce the program. He said that over the Thanksgiving holiday, the Albuquerque Police Department, “saw the highest call […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, Quick Reads
City of Albuquerque agrees to settlement in police shooting suit
The City of Albuquerque agreed to a still-undisclosed settlement in a four-year-old lawsuit filed by the minor children of a man who was shot and killed by police. The agreement came Friday, just two days before a jury trial for the lawsuit was set to start. Three children of Mickey Owings filed a lawsuit against […]
Posted inNew Mexico
NM GOP renews call for special session on crime after alleged arson at Albuquerque headquarters
By Patrick Lohmann, Source New Mexico Republicans from across New Mexico gathered in front of charred front doors to the party’s Albuquerque headquarters Monday, saying a weekend fire they believe is arson is more proof that Democrats in charge of the Legislature failed to adequately address crime during a 60-day legislative session that ended a […]
Posted inUncategorized
Gun violence has taken a heavy toll on Albuquerque students. A school responds.
by Elise Kaplan, Searchlight New Mexico On a sweltering day in late June, a group of teenage boys crowded and jostled one another in a metal shop tucked behind Robert F. Kennedy Charter School in Southwest Albuquerque. The object of their interest? A table heaped with gun barrels and firearm parts. Almost exactly five months […]
Posted inHealthcare
Not Invisible Act commission stops in Albuquerque to hear testimony on missing and murdered Indigenous individuals
The Not Invisible Act commission is hearing testimony this week in Albuquerque to gather information about missing and murdered Indigenous women and relatives. The commission’s listening session in Albuquerque, which runs through Friday, is one of several hearings nationwide which started in Tulsa in April and will conclude in Billings in July to hear about […]
Posted inUncategorized
Homeless shelters aren’t equipped to deal with New Mexico’s most troubled foster kids. Police see it for themselves.
by Ed Williams, Searchlight New Mexico, and Joel Jacobs, ProPublica ProPublica is a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom. Sign up for The Big Story newsletter to receive stories like this one in your inbox. Series: Nowhere to Go New Mexico’s Troubled Foster Care System Near the pumps of a gas station in Las Cruces, New Mexico, […]
Posted inUncategorized
New Mexico cities look to divert police from 911 calls for mental health
by Joshua Bowling and Vanessa G. Sánchez, Searchlight New Mexico It was just after 6:30 one evening last April when Las Cruces police officer Jared Cosper responded to a mental health call. The family of Amelia Baca, a 75-year-old grandmother with dementia, had called 911, saying she appeared to be off her medication and was […]