Albuquerque PD Consent Decree Plans Under Wraps

Albuquerque police officers and activists critical of police agree on one thing: They'd like to see what's on the table in negotiations between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice over what reforms the Albuquerque Police Department will have to make.

Albuquerque police officers and activists critical of police agree on one thing: They'd like to see what's on the table in negotiations between the city and the U.S. Department of Justice over what reforms the Albuquerque Police Department will have to make, reports the Albuquerque Journal.

They and the rest of the community likely will have to wait about six months.

The Justice Department in April released a report after a 16-month investigation that determined APD had a pattern of violating residents' constitutional rights through excessive use of force. The city and the Justice Department will try to negotiate a court-enforceable agreement over how to reform the police department to remedy that and other problems raised in the report.

"We, like a lot of people, would love to be at the negotiating table, but we also understand that too many cooks in the kitchen could cause the whole process to break down," ACLU-NM Executive Director Peter Simonson said in an email. "The DOJ has assured us that they will press for the strongest consent decree possible and we look forward to reviewing what they come up with."

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