Mixed reviews on plans for officer-involved shootings

City Councilor Pat Davis’ proposal to have an agency other than the Albuquerque Police Department investigate fatal shootings by APD officers is a sensible suggestion because, as he said, the public is much more likely to buy into independent, unbiased reviews. After all, having the wolf review the disappearance of the chickens from the coop hardly instills confidence in the process. And having another wolf from the same pack do the investigation isn’t much better. Davis’ timing, however, could be better. How APD handles its officer-involved shootings is already part of the ongoing reforms being hammered out between APD and the U.S. Department of Justice, which determined after a 2014 investigation that APD had a pattern of violating people’s rights through the use of excessive force. That investigation was prompted by APD officers having been involved in 24 shootings over a four-year period. New Mexico still leads the nation in percapita officer-involved shootings.

It is important that any City Council actions, no matter how wellintentioned, do nothing to throw a wrench into the DOJ process.

In a related move that is more certain to have a positive impact, state Attorney General Hector Balderas in his role as chairman of the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy Board, announced that he has appointed a special subcommittee to review the numerous policies and procedures followed by 190 New Mexico law enforcement agencies when responding to and investigating officer-involved shootings and use-of-force incidents.

The subcommittee will develop recommendations designed to ensure timeliness, transparency and uniform accountability across New Mexico law enforcement agencies.

Given the subcommittee’s makeup — State Police Chief Pete Kassetas, Navajo Department of Public Safety Chief Darren Soland, and citizen members Elisabeth L. Miller and Kelly Burnham, both from Las Cruces — it appears hopeful they can come up with a uniform protocol that could go a long way in rebuilding public confidence in such investigations statewide.

Ultimately, it’s the Justice Department that will determine whether APD’s protocol for investigating — and reviewing — its police-involved shootings conforms to federal law.

The better course for the City Council is to wait for APD and the Justice Department to implement the much-needed reforms and, once Balderas’ subcommittee makes its recommendations, consider how they also can be used to improve local investigations — with federal approval.