Looking Back at APD Reform as Consent Decree Ends

This week on New Mexico in Focus, we explore what the end of federal oversight at the Albuquerque Police Department means for the city.  

On April 11, 2011, two plainclothes detectives killed 27-year-old Christopher Torres, shooting him three times in the back in his family’s backyard. Since that day, his parents, Steve and Renetta Torres, have been prominent voices in the push for reform at APD. Executive Producer Jeff Proctor recently met with the Torres’s to talk about what they lost 14 years ago, and to get their perspective on the decade-plus of trying to clean up the department that killed their son.

When Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller appointed Harold Medina as APD chief in 2020, the department was still not fully in charge of itself, having blown past the deadline to end a court-approved settlement agreement the city signed with the U.S. Department of Justice six years prior. DOJ investigators had identified a deeply embedded culture at APD that led to the unconstitutional use of excessive force — and a leadership structure that enabled it. Medina’s was at the helm of APD when U.S. District Judge James Browning signed an order ending the consent decree on May 12. Host Nash Jones recently sat down with Medina to discuss how APD has changed through this 11-year reform project — and ask why federal oversight of his department has come to an end now.

Longtime civil rights lawyer Mark Fine has monitored the situation at APD for years. Fine joins Jeff tor the long-view perspective on how effective federal intervention has been in tamping down APD’s culture of aggression.

City Councilor Nichole Rogers ran for her seat in 2023 in part on a platform of improving policing. Rogers speaks with Nash about how she and her constituents’ relationship with APD stands as the consent-decree era ends. 

Host: Nash Jones 

Segments: 
APD Shooting Victim’s Parents on Their Push for Police Reform
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor
Guests:
Renetta Torres, Son Killed by APD in 2011
Steve Torres, Son Killed by APD in 2011

APD Chief Medina on the DOJ-Mandated Reform Effort
Correspondent: Nash Jones
Guest: Harold Medina, Chief, Albuquerque Police Department

Civil Rights Attorney on ‘Police Culture’ at APD
Correspondent: Jeff Proctor
Guest: Mark Fine, Civil Rights Lawyer

City Councilor on Policing in International District
Correspondent: Nash Jones
Guest: Nichole Rogers, Albuquerque City Councilor, District 6