APD Police Chief Medina Avoids Criminal Charges and Gets Verbal Reprimand from His Own Department

The New Mexico Department of Justice (NMDOJ), headed by Raul Torrez, has completed a comprehensive review of the February 17, 2024, traffic accident involving Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina. The crash resulted in serious injuries to Mr. Todd Perchert almost killing him. It should be noted that within a couple hours of the crash happening, APD held a press conference at the crash site and they told the media that Mr. Perchert was fine and he had sustained minor injuries. When we asked if any department violations had occurred by Chief Medina, civilian PIO Gilbert Gallegos immediately responded with a “NO!”. Recently, a review was undertaken by the NMDOJ to assess whether Chief Medina should be charged with careless driving. The NMDOJ tasked the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department with thoroughly investigating what happened. The investigation found that Chief Medina’s driving amounted to a misdemeanor crime as defined by the NM Motor Vehicle Code. The misdemeanor involves operating a vehicle in a careless or imprudent manner.

The report goes on to say: After examining all available evidence, including witness statements, surveillance videos, and physical evidence, NMDOJ per Sheriff Allen’s report they concluded that while Chief Medina’s actions might meet the criteria for careless driving, however prosecution is not warranted due to evidence that he acted under duress because there was a shooting nearby. The report eludes to say that Chief Medina and his wife, who was along for the ride, were scared to death and the couple wanted to escape certain death. Therefore, NMDOJ has decided not to pursue any charges, closing the matter.

On the day of the crash, APD officers and detectives conducted an on-scene investigation, collecting evidence and taking witness statements. APD’s internal crash review team said Chief Medina did nothing wrong and asked the public to move on. After public scrutiny given the potential conflict of interest of investigating their own chief, NMDOJ requested an independent investigation, which played a crucial role in their analysis.

The evidence revealed that Chief Medina, driving with his wife as a passenger, stopped at a red light on Alvarado Drive and Central Avenue. After a reported altercation nearby, someone fired a shot near Medina’s vehicle. Medina believed the shot was directed at him and his wife. In response, Chief Medina accelerated through the red light, slammed into Mr. Perchert’s vehicle, and caused significant injuries.

According to the NMDOJ, it is clear that Chief Medina ran a red light and caused the accident, the defense of duress applies as he acted out of a reasonable fear for his and his wife’s safety. New Mexico law supports this by allowing law enforcement officers to act under duress just like any other individual.

Chief Medina Receives Letters of Reprimand for February Crash

In a separate development yesterday, the Albuquerque Police Department’s Internal Affairs investigation found that Chief Medina violated two department policies during the incident: failing to safely operate his vehicle and not fully activating his On-Body Recording Device. Consequently, he received two letters of reprimand.

The facts: On February 17, while heading to a news conference, Chief Medina told investigators that he noticed an illegal encampment obstructing a public sidewalk. Chief Medina saw two men fighting near the intersection of Alvarado St. and Central Ave., N.E. As Chief Medina prepared to notify the Southeast Area Commander via cell phone about the encampment one of the men pulled out a handgun and fired a shot. Concerned for his wife’s safety, he accelerated through the intersection, leading to the crash. He fully cooperated with the Internal Affairs investigation and accepted the reprimands, acknowledging the standards all officers must uphold.

Medina admitted he did not have his radio on at the time of this crash. Officers are expected to keep their radios on and tuned to the area command they are driving in as part of APD’s standard operating procedure. It remains unclear why APD’s Internal Affairs did not cite Medina for not having his radio on or if why his wife did not fill out a ride along form. We requested the records from APD to show when the Motorola radio in Chief Medina’s vehicle was actually activated, but the city has refused to produce these records. We know the technology exists in these radios because it was part of the new multi million dollar upgrade which encrypted police radios for public listening. A GPS monitoring system built into all the police radios know where they are at, at all times, when they were turned on, and when they are turned off. Those logs are kept on record somewhere but are most likely only used against officers who piss off supervisors or are targeted. It’s obvious these violations were ignored by investigators since someone decided they should only be applied to officers on patrol in fully marked police cars. Some leader somewhere within APD has decided that supervisors who drive around in city owned vehicles with civilian plates and no markings whatsoever should be exempt from SOP because they are special and can not be bugged by citizens who may recognize them if they were in a fully marked up vehicle. We also requested Chief Medinas ride along form for his wife but we were told no such document exists. This violation was most likely created in the APD SOP only to be used against patrol officers to beat their moral down.

In April, Medina’s subordinates determined that the crash was non-preventable. On May 15th, 2024, APD announced they arrested the shooter, Michael Scott Mountjoy, who fired the shot and then fled the scene. It should be noted the Mountjoy is no longer in MDC custody.

Victim of the Crash Left with Devastating and Lasting Injuries

Todd Perchert, 55, is a military veteran and car enthusiast. At the time of the crash, Mr. Perchert was on his way to the Rio Grande Mustang Club. The crash with Medina’s Ford F-150 totaled Mr. Perchert’s gold 1966 Ford Mustang, which he’d owned for 12 years and cherished.

After the crash, medical personnel took Mr. Perchert to a local trauma center, where doctors treated him for a broken collarbone and shoulder blade, as well as eight ribs fractured in multiple places. After a seven-hour surgery, his ribs now have titanium plates. He was hospitalized in critical condition, receiving an epidural painkiller, a chest tube for his collapsed lung, stitches in his left ear, and treatment for multiple facial gashes. His collarbone, shoulder blade, and two ribs were left to heal in their broken and permanently deformed state. Mr. Perchert spent weeks in the hospital and needed numerous surgeries.

It’s possible that Mr. Perchert could eventually sue the City of Albuquerque, Albuquerque Police Department, and Chief Harold Medina. In a press conference in late March, Mr. Perchert and his wife appeared with the law firm Tawney, Acosta and Chaparro. This firm specializes in helping those injured in motor vehicle crashes, specifically “truck crashes” and those left with lasting injuries.

“Mr. Perchert’s attorney contested that Chief Medina also violated New Mexico law when Chief Medina entered an intersection without the right of way, with no emergency lights or warnings, into oncoming traffic. In a statement, the Percherts said “We have questions about why he pulled over in the first place, in an unmarked vehicle with his wife in the car, and without his lapel camera activated,” said James Tawney, the Percherts’ attorney and partner at Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro.

“Importantly, while we very much appreciate what the Albuquerque Police Department does to keep our community safe, on this day, one officer – the Chief of Police – did the opposite, by endangering the motoring public.”

Chief Medina has since replaced his totaled basic department pickup truck with a fancy top of the line $98,000.00 Ford Expedition Timberland Edition. This SUV is made for serious off roading and hunting trips and is not even a police edition vehicle. Chief Medina has rewarded himself for totaling his vehicle with a very nice vehicle. For context, when an officer totals their vehicle, they are given a replacement vehicle with 100-200 thousand miles that is typically missing paint and numerous parts while their totaled vehicle is repaired by the lowest bidder. When the officer finally gets their vehicle back within nine months, it is typically missing parts and barely runs. The defeated officer would typically rather have the car with 200,00 miles on it again with its chipped paint, cigarette burns, horrible stenches, and mysterious stains throughout. The officer also has numerous days off and a permanent record waiting for them as discipline to make an example out of them. It is unclear if Chief Medina will use this new luxury vehicle for more ride-alongs with family and beloved hunting trips.

You can find our previous articles about this story here: