APD Civilian Employee Uses Take Home Vehicle to Shuttle Kid to Football Practice and do Personal Business

Albuquerque –

Albuquerque residents have been hit hard at the wallet with gas prices recently hitting $4.85 a gallon. One City of Albuquerque employee has found an exciting loophole dodging paying at the normal pumps by just using his city issued take home vehicle. The employee has been seen shuttling his family to sports activities and running any other personal errands around Albuquerque and Rio Rancho and most likely beyond.

We received tips from concerned citizens that they had observed Albuquerque Police Department Internal Affairs Investigator Matthew Hernandez consistently showing up to football practices at Ventana Ranch Park in Albuquerque to coach and transport family members to practices. A teenager is usually seen exiting a white Ford Escape with government plates. The teen can be seen with his football gear and headed down to the practice field. Hernandez could then be seen walking down to the field also after stashing the city car in a parking lot with visible government plates.

We are not listing address information for the CABQ employee but an exhaustive record search indicates Hernandez lives in Rio Rancho. The address is 31 miles from the APD Main Police Station. The practice facility is not on the way home to or from any work related business. It would indicate Hernandez picks up the child and droves him from their Rio Rancho home to the Ventana Ranch park in Albuquerque which is another 15 miles away. This practice saves the Hernandez family thousands per year at the Albuquerque tax payers expense.

Hernandez is NOT a sworn APD employee but is a City of Albuquerque employee working in the Internal Affairs section. The section typical is in charge of keeping all APD employees in check when it comes to city policies and procedures. We looked into it and the City does have policies regarding use of take home vehicles:

III.   POLICY

   A.   General Provisions

      1)   Employees operating a City vehicle are required to have a valid driver’s license and City identification and be incompliance with the COP program policies and procedures. If an employee is operating a City vehicle that requires a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL), the employee must carry a valid CDL and a valid medical card.

Assigned City vehicles shall not be used to transport non-City employees except for persons who have a working or other business relationship with the City, or with advance CAO approval for special events such as parades. It is allowable for employees to transport family members (e.g. children to school) if the location of the school is on the way to the employee’s Work Station and not done during work hours.

We reached out to the Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel’s office to see if Hernandez filed the proper paperwork for transportation to and from personal errands and whether or not he is following the proper take home policies. City spokesman Dan Mayfield speaking on behalf of the Internal Affairs Division said in an e-mail: “Internal affairs is investigating allegations made by a citizen against the employee. There is nothing further we can comment at this time while the investigation is ongoing.“

Hernandez is a use of force investigator and his job requires him to go to scenes where an Albuquerque Police officer uses force against police suspects. The Albuquerque Police Department Standard Operating Police 2-5 outlines sworn personnel use but does NOT have a section for their civilian employees.

A. While on-duty, sworn personnel shall: 1. Be aware that the take-home vehicle is a privilege that is not to be abused; 2. Be authorized to use their take-home vehicle for unofficial business at the discretion of the Chief of Police and consistent with the CBA; 3. Be allowed to travel for unofficial business to and from the Albuquerque metropolitan area in their assigned take-home vehicle if they reside outside of the Albuquerque metropolitan area;

D. While off-duty, sworn personnel shall not: 1. Permit an unauthorized person to drive the vehicle; 2. Park or use the vehicle to conduct business at a location where it may reflect unfavorably on the reputation of the Department;

“The City of Albuquerque’s policies around take-home cars have been at the center of numerous questionable behaviors on the part of city employees in the past. The City should clearly define what an acceptable and unacceptable use of city vehicles is and, if there is abuse, they must have clear repercussions for those who violate the terms. There is nothing inherently wrong with allowing city employees to take home their work vehicles, but oversight is necessary,” said Paul Gessing President of the Rio Grande Foundation.

The Albuquerque Police Department says Hernandez was hired in April of 2022 and there is an active internal investigation for the use of his take home car usage.

We will check back in to see if becoming a city employee, and being issued a unmarked city car is a good way to save thousands per year on rising fuel costs. If this is indeed a secret benefit offered to employees, it may be a good time to apply for open positions within the city of Albuquerque.