It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.
Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.
Thank you.
Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.
Albuquerque police officers have gunned down one person a month for 20 months — 14 of those shootings have been fatal.
According to news reports, Mayor Berry vetoed a City Council resolution last month asking for a Department Of Justice investigation; the City Council failed to override the veto at the Sept. 7 council meeting. “Last month the mayor vetoed the resolution passed by the City Council,” Garduño told the crowd on Saturday. “This is cowardice.” Garduño said in an interview that an external investigation is vital in order to bring systemic issues to light. “The community needs to feel they have been listened to and respected,” he said. “The confidence of the community has been lost. No one is saying we have a rotten police department, but rotten procedures and the actions of a few have tainted the department, and we need to bring this whole thing out into the air and remove the taint from the Albuquerque Police Department.”
“This isn’t just about a call for justice for the 14 people killed by APD,” said Joel Gallegos, coordinator of the Act Now to Stop War and End Racism (ANSWER) Coalition of New Mexico. “This is about demanding justice for everyone. We are fighting against a system that shoots people, Tasers people and verbally abuses them. We are here to demand our rights for justice.”
The bill they passed back in August essentially pushed for the DOJ to investigate. That bill narrowly passed, but was vetoed by Mayor Berry. Not all councilors agreed with it. "I just don't support the DOJ coming in. I think the administration is taking care of all the issues and I think it'll happen sooner than later," said Councilman Brad Winter.