Albuquerque police chief grades APD: "A"
Posted at: 09/11/2012 5:44 PM
By: Chris Ramirez, KOB Eyewitness News 4
The Albuquerque police chief graded his department with an “A” during a press conference Tuesday.
Albuquerque Police Department Chief Ray Schultz backed up that grade with what he calls significant progress in the last two years across the department.
"I think when it comes to a report card, I think it’s an ‘A,’” said Schultz. “We didn't just provide lip service, we said this is what we're going to do, this is what PERF said we should do and we've taken the bull by the horns."
Schultz cited new training, which will provide officers with lessons on constitutional law. He also cited new equipment such as lapel cameras for officers so their every movement can be video documented. The police chief also pointed out the department has followed 90 percent of recommendations given to the department by the national law enforcement think tank Police Executive Research Forum, PERF.
"I'd give it an A, not an A+, but I think we'll never get to an A+ because as I said policing continues to evolve, the community continues to evolve and change," Schultz said.
Mayor Richard Berry chimed in agreeing with APD’s improvements, but he graded the department an “‘E’ for Effort.”
"I'm looking for trends, I'm looking for effort, I'm looking for an attitude of always pushing forward and always trying to get better, so with all those things I'd give it an “‘E’ for effort” at this point."
Jewell Hall is a vocal critic of APD and has been calling for the Department of Justice to investigate a pattern of officer involved shootings. In a phone interview, she told KOB Eyewitness News 4 that "an 'A' is an insult to the intelligence of the relatives of those killed in the last two years by APD officers." She gave APD an “F.”
When further pressed about Schultz’s grading, he explained when APD officers have made mistakes, the problems have been dealt with and corrected.
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