Protesting
against systemic abuse by the Albuquerque Police Department on Sunday
April 6, demonstrators encountered officers in riot gear. (Photo: Cole
L. Howard)
Residents of Albuquerque, New Mexico are
marching on the police department Saturday to demand retribution against
the city's mayor and police chief for their role in the police force's
documented "execution" of citizens.
The march comes after the Department of Justice
slammed
the Albuquerque Police Department for their frequent use of excessive
and lethal force in a damning report released on Thursday.
Though, according to advocates, abuse by local law enforcement has
been systemic for years, calls for increased scrutiny of the APD were
amplified following the police shooting death of James Boyd, a homeless
man suffering from mental illness, on March 16.
Advocates welcomed the DOJ's findings, saying the report was "spot
on" in terms of identifying the root causes of this behavior, such as
the "aggressive culture of the department" and the way in which "force
is prioritized in training."
However, according to David Correia, an organizer with the Task Force
for Public Safety who has been working with families of victims of APD
violence, the DOJ's inclusion of Mayor Richard J. Berry and police chief
Gorden Eden in the negotiations for the consent decree, which will
dictate how those recommendations will be implemented, is a
"non-starter" for the community groups.
The systemic deficiencies identified by the DOJ are "all produced and reinforced through leadership," Correia told
Common Dreams. "To say those people should be involved to us is 'no go.' We don't want them to be a part of it."
Further, Correia noted that the report did not go so far as to
address some of the larger issues including laws around homelessness,
access for people suffering from mental illness and access for veterans,
which he says are also major contributors to the police violence in the
city.
The Saturday evening protest will begin at 5 PM MST at Civic Plaza from where demonstrators will
march to the APD. During another recent protest against the department, police
assaulted demonstrators with tear gas.
Activists are calling for the removal of those officials, including
Berry and Eden, who oversaw the frequent "execution" of citizens and for
a federal monitor to be appointed. Correia said that they need to
"interrupt the idea that this is somehow resolved," now that the DOJ has
released their report.
"Our fear is that people will now think that the sheriff has come
down in his white hat and we can all sit back and relax," Correia
continued.
The Justice Department investigation, launched in November 2012, found:
APD officers too frequently use deadly force against people who pose a
minimal threat and in situations where the conduct of the officers
heightens the danger and contributes to the need to use force;
APD officers use less lethal force, including electronic controlled
weapons, on people who are passively resisting, non-threatening,
observably unable to comply with orders or pose only a minimal threat to
the officers; and
Encounters between APD officers and persons with mental illness and
in crisis too frequently result in a use of force or a higher level of
force than necessary.
The DOJ also cited "systemic deficiencies" which contribute to these
patterns which include deficient policies, failed accountability,
inadequate training and supervision, ineffective systems of
investigation and adjudication, the absence of a culture of community
policing and a lack of sufficient civilian oversight.
This leaked video taken from a police helmet camera depicts APD officers killing unarmed homeless man, James Boyd:
