Judge: APD policy on promotions vague

The Albuquerque Police Department’s new policy for determining which officers get promoted is too vague, a federal judge ruled this week.

U.S. District Judge Robert Brack ordered the city administration and police union to work with a court-appointed monitor to craft a policy that more clearly defines the promotions policy.

The police union had objected to the policy, saying it gave the police chief too much discretion to determine who gets promoted to sergeant.

The city, in turn, argued that the chief needs some discretion to ensure that APD sergeants — the front-line supervisors of the police force — have a strong grasp on civil rights and community-oriented-policing strategies. The old policy was too formulaic, based largely on whether officers passed

a test, the city said.

Brack agreed that the chief needs some discretion, but some parts of the policy need to be better-defined, he said.

He noted that the courtappointed monitor has described the new policy as “usable” but not “ideal,” so clearly there’s room for improvement.

“Officers need to have a more concrete idea of the types of incidents that will count against their opportunities for advancement,” Brack wrote.

He directed the APD administration and the police union to report back to him by March 1.

Brack is the judge overseeing a settlement that requires a series of police reforms in Albuquerque. The agreement is the result of a U.S. Department of Justice investigation in 2014 that found APD had a pattern of violating people’s rights through the use of excessive force.

The settlement requires the city to develop fair promotional practices that prioritize constitutional, community-oriented policing.