43% of Albuquerque Officers Supported DOJ Probe

Dec. 27, 2012
More than 60 percent said they had not been significantly trained to deal with new technologies such as lapel cameras and policies related to officers' use of force.

A month before the U.S. Department of Justice announced it would launch an investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department, more than 40 percent of officers who answered a union survey said they supported a federal probe of their department.

More than 60 percent said they had not been significantly trained to deal with new technologies such as lapel cameras and policies related to officers' use of force.

And 72 percent of respondents said the average APD officer does not have "proper tools (equipment, training, manpower support, etc...) to effectively serve and protect the people of Albuquerque."

Albuquerque Police Officers' Association officials hired a private company that sent the survey to each of the union's roughly 900 members. More than 450 officers responded between Sept. 25 and Oct. 25, a high response compared to typical turnouts for APOA votes.

In November, union leaders released portions of the survey, but withheld the majority of the 26 questions and answers.

The Journal obtained a copy of the complete survey this week with the exception of answers to open-ended questions.

Ot her newly obt a i ned results showed:

Almost 44 percent of respondents, 193 officers, said they are considering early retirement.

Just shy of a third of respondents, 146 officers, said they are looking for jobs with other law enforcement agencies or plan to do so in the future.

Nea rly two -t h i rds of respondents, 278 officers, said the APD promotional process is neither fair nor balanced.

Intense scrutiny

Withheld from the initial release was the way 436 APD officers responded to this question: "Do you support a Department of Justice investigation into the practices of APD?"

Of those who answered that question, 190 (43.6 percent) said "yes," and 246 (56.4 percent) said "no."

APD's problems have been the focus of intense scrutiny from the news media and community activists for more than two years. Among the issues: 27 men shot at by officers, 17 fatally and most of them Hispanic and in their 20s or 30s, since 2010; officers fired and others criminally charged over use-of-force incidents; other types of misconduct that netted lesser punishments; a union scandal involving potentially misspent dues money and payments of up to $500 for officers involved in shootings; and millions of dollars in taxpayer money spent on defending police officers and paying people who have sued APD.

The Justice Department announced on Nov. 27 an investigation to determine whether APD has a "pattern or practice" of violating civil rights, particularly through the use of force. The announcement followed more than 15 months of speculation after Justice Department officials said during a visit to Albuquerque that they were gathering information on APD.

Union leaders also did not release the following question from their survey: "Do you feel that you have been significantly trained to deal with new technologies and policies (lapel cameras, use of force, etc.)?"

A total of 447 answered that question, with 278 (62 percent) saying "no" and 169 (38 percent) saying "yes."

In May, Police Chief Ray Schultz issued a directive that all officers must record each citizen contact with a department-issued, lapel-mounted camera.

The order was a response to growing criticism from the community that APD is a department out of control and came by way of a recommendation from the citizen Police Oversight Commission. Schultz has said the cameras often "exonerate" officers after citizen complaints.

And in August, Schultz changed the process for the way APD reviews use-of-force incidents by officers. The new system requires deputy police chiefs to make final determinations as to whether an officer's use of force was justified. Previously, sergeants and lieutenants reviewed and made decisions about the appropriateness of the use of force by officers.

That change came after public records requests from the news media that unearthed lapel camera video showing three APD officers involved in a May 31 incident in which one suspect was repeatedly Tasered and another suspect was punched several times after he had surrendered.

Four-hundred-thirty-eight officers responded to the question about whether police have the "proper tools" to serve the public. Three-hundred- fifteen (72 percent) answered "no," and 123 (28 percent) answered "yes."

Schultz did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment about the APOA survey.

Lots of lows

In November, the union released selected results from the survey. Among them: 99 percent of respondents described APD morale as "low;" 80 percent disapproved of the job Schultz is doing as chief; 95 percent disapproved of the job Mayor Richard Berry was doing with regard to APD; and 98 percent believed APD was undermanned, with fewer than 1,000 officers.

APOA Vice President Shaun Willoughby said in an interview Wednesday that officials decided not to release the entire survey last month because they were concerned the DOJ and training questions might "distract" from the union's message about morale and disaffection.

Schultz and Berry, however, were provided the entire survey in November, he said.

"The chief and the mayor don't seem to be taking this seriously," Willoughby said. "They have a really big problem on their hands in terms of the way they communicate with their department and the way they train their department."

After the union initially released portions of the survey, Berry responded to it by saying that: "It's neither my goal nor my job to win a popularity contest with the union."

Copyright 2012 - Albuquerque Journal, N.M.

McClatchy-Tribune News Service

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