Police hire raises criticism in New Mexico's largest city

Source: Associated Press


Mary Hudetz, Associated Press
Updated 7:46 pm CDT, Friday, October 19, 2018

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — The Albuquerque mayor's hiring of a New Jersey law enforcement veteran accused of excessive force in a more than decade-old lawsuit was met Friday with strong criticism among New Mexico police reform advocates.

The announcement a day earlier of Leonard Nerbetski's appointment as a civilian manager of Albuquerque's Real-Time Crime Center — a unit that includes dispatchers and crime analysts — comes as the local police department carries out a yearslong, court-mandated effort to reform how officers use force.

In a New Jersey lawsuit that was later settled with the state admitting no wrongdoing, Nerbetski was named as one of two state police troopers accused of accosting a pair of law students during a 1996 traffic stop. A woman in the car's passenger's seat said Nerbetski had twisted her arm, slammed her head against the vehicle and put a gun to her head.

. . .

A coalition of nonprofits and advocates, APD Forward was formed in 2014 in response to community outcry over shootings by Albuquerque police. A federal investigation conducted that same year in response to the shootings found a "culture of aggression" among Albuquerque police — a finding that resulted in the city agreeing to sweeping policy changes.

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Police-hire-raises-criticism-in-New-Mexico-s-13321759.php