We got some good news and some bad news today.
First the good news: the Court has accepted the settlement agreement between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the City of Albuquerque! This is truly a milestone in our community’s long struggle to reform the Albuquerque Police Department’s pattern and practice of using excessive force against those it has sworn to protect and serve. The bad news is that the Court has rejected our request to intervene in the settlement agreement.
Back in March, the ACLU of New Mexico, Disability Rights New Mexico, and the Native American Voters Alliance filed a motion to intervene in the settlement agreement between the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the City of Albuquerque. Our goal was to ensure that the community—especially segments of the community that are disproportionately affected by police violence, such as people experiencing homelessness, people living with mental illness, and the Native American community—had a voice in the reform process moving forward. Had we been successful, these vulnerable populations would have had our three organizations representing them as plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Although it is disappointing that we will not be formal parties to the settlement agreement, we will certainly continue our vital work as advocates for community members affected by police brutality in Albuquerque. The implementation of this reform process will take at least four years, and we, along with our partners in APD Forward, will continue to act as strong community voices for reform.
Here is our agenda moving forward:
- Holding the City of Albuquerque accountable. Certainly, the settlement agreement has lots of accountability already built in, especially in the form of the federal court-appointed monitor, but community involvement is essential to the long-term success of the effort to reform the Albuquerque Police Department. If the community itself does not continue to demand change, real, enduring reform is not possible.
- Advocating for communities vulnerable to police brutality. We don’t need to be plaintiffs in the lawsuit against APD to continue to advocate for people who suffer disproportionately from police excessive use of force. We’ll continue to fight for the community in City Council meetings, meet with city leaders and DOJ staff, and advocate in the press for the reforms Albuquerque sorely needs.
- Keeping you informed. It’s vital that the community is in the loop for the duration of the reform process. We’ll keep you updated with how the reform process is progressing and what you can do to help.
We’ll be doing the majority of this work in cooperation with our partners at APD Forward, so make sure to join the APD Forward mailing list and ‘like’ APD Forward on Facebook for breaking news and alerts.
