Albuquerque –
Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina hosted a Reality-Based Training (RBT) demonstration to highlight how officers are taught to approach use-of-force situations.
The press conference kicked off with Chief Medina walking up to the podium and highlighting the success with the DOJ in coming into compliance. In past press conference scenarios, normally the Mayor and Chief Medina would begin the press conference together.
Mayor Keller showed up midway through Chief Medina’s remarks and approached the podium. He read from a binder with a prepared statement. Media handlers said we would have an opportunity for questions after the RBT demonstrations. However, after the RBT demonstrations, the Mayor was nowhere to be found and had snuck out during the demonstrations.
It should be noted, Mayor Keller had a sit-down interview with KOAT and indicated APD Police Chief Harold Medina would not be the police chief for his third term if he were to win the election.
During the press conference he said “We want to be transparent and hold APD accountable,” Mayor Keller said. “But that starts with setting high standards and supporting officers with effective training.”
The demonstration comes as APD is in the final phase of a 10-year reform effort to change the way officers use force against individuals as they are taken into custody. Officers are trained to use de-escalation tactics to avoid force when possible. When officers must use force, they are trained to use the minimal force necessary.
“Our officers do a great job every day to make arrests without having to use force,” Chief Medina said. “When officers use force, we learn from those incidents and our training staff incorporates those experiences into reality-based scenarios.”
According to APD, the Independent Monitoring Team has noted in recent reports that the continued decrease in serious use-of-force incidents is “strong evidence that APD’s policies, supervisory oversight, and disciplinary systems are working as designed.”
Currently, APD pays Dr. James Ginger, who annually makes over $1.5 million, to report the progress to the DOJ.
I don’t trust either one of these characters. I don’t believe a word they say and neither one has the people of Albuquerque best interests in mind. In my opinion they are both worthless
And you trust James Ginger either. He has bilked Albuquerque taxpayers for many millions over the years.
When APD shot the homeless camper, they needed reforms and leadership
They still are
Mayor Keller is finished! He was unable to put the interests of the city ahead of his progressive views on the unhoused, addicted and mentally ill. He has enabled a public nuisance all over #ONEAlbuquerque – The next mayor will have most of the tools to deal with these problems, we just need a candidate who isn’t afraid to LEAD and expend some political capital in the process.
“It should be noted, Mayor Keller had a sit-down interview with KOAT and indicated APD Police Chief Harold Medina would not be the police chief for his third term if he were to win the election.”
Medina and Keller both need to go!
What scares me, are the dem voters who support more of the same leadership. Many people think they can hide by claiming moderate, or middle of the road, but the are all euphemisms, for LUKE WARM.
1.5 million!! Hire me I’ll do it for half of that.