Albuquerque Police Chief Announces Retirement

ALBUQUERQUE – APD Chief Harold Medina announced he will retire from the department on Dec. 31, 2025, concluding three decades in law enforcement, including the last five years as Chief of Police.

Chief Medina informed his Commanders of his upcoming retirement during his final staff meeting on Tuesday morning. He will start a new role in January 2026 developing leadership programs for police chiefs across the country.

“We did something different here that had never been done before,” Chief Medina told APD Commanders, highlighting the drop in crime, increased arrests, investments in police technology and ending the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice.

“What got us here was teamwork and leaders who stand up for officers who are doing their jobs, day in and day out,” Chief Medina said. “I couldn’t ask for anything more. I may have gotten in trouble at times for being outspoken, but that’s who I am. I led this department the best way I knew how, while developing the next generation of leaders.”

Mayor Tim Keller appointed Medina as Deputy Chief when Keller was first elected in 2017. Mayor Keller promoted Medina to Chief of Police in 2020. During his tenure as police, Medina was also elected president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association in 2025.

His tenure as Police Chief had some controversy with him slamming into an innocent citizen while Medina was fleeing into an intersection after shots were fired. The Chief had his wife in the truck and was heading to a press conference with Mayor Keller. He also faced lawsuits regarding him handling the reassignment of APD Academy instructors because his best friend, Commander George Vega’s son was disciplined as a cadet. Junior Vega ended up becoming an APD officer and the instructors were paid out in a jury trial for $2 million dollars.

There was also public scrutiny when the department bought him a high end Ford Expedition after the crash. Through record requests it was revealed the SUV cost over $100,000.

“Chief Medina took over a department rife with challenges, he was tasked with concluding the DOJ CASA, bringing crime numbers down, increase the number of officers and improving trust in the community and with the rank and file,” Mayor Tim Keller said. “He retires having achieved these goals and leaves the department a dramatically better place, we are grateful for his 30 years of service for community and the turnaround he lead as chief.”

Mayor Tim Keller will announce his future plans for APD’s leadership after he is sworn in for his third term. Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel will name an acting chief at that time and, as the city has done in the past, the city will conduct a national search before deciding on a permanent chief who is an experienced crime-fighter, has leadership experience, has a working knowledge of the Albuquerque community, and is committed to maintaining reforms and trust in the department.

The National Searches typically are awarded to an out-of-state firm and cost taxpayers over six figures and typically APD promotes within the department. We have noticed over the decades that national searches are a waste of tax payer money because after doing the search and having a list of good candidates means nothing, because in the end a King always chooses his court.

No-one should feel bad for the outgoing Chief considering he will make over $200,000 a year because of his retirement from NM’s PERA.