Following police reform announcement in Albuquerque, organizers of protests feel left out

"I would say, same book, different page," said Keiran Freeman, who along with Hosanna Scott started the Black Voices Albuquerque group.

They say they want APD to be defunded. They believe the money taken out of the department should be reinvested into the community.

"You know, where is the communication, exactly? You're saying that you're in contact with all of the organizers that put together things in the past couple weeks and that's not true, because here we stand out of the loop," Freeman said. 

Mayor Keller said he was in contact with a lot of people before announcing the new department.

"I've had personal communications both casual at different events, and also in our office," Keller said. "And we actually continue to have those. But, I think most importantly, we've had those discussions at multiple levels."

Keller said the idea for the new department came from the people working the community.

"It's a step in the right direction, but, I'm like where's the action behind it," Scott said. "Obviously, he just said that today. But, you know, people and officials say things all the time and it just gets swept under the rug."