New Mexico Mercury

New Mexico Mercury

DOJ announces start of negotiations with ABQ Mayor Berry

June 10, 2014

By John Cordova

US Attorney for New Mexico Damon Martinez told a group of community members Monday night that the community outreach portion of their process is coming to an end.  The Department of Justice (DOJ) will present a portion of a draft consent decree to the mayor this week to begin negotiations - possibly as early as Wednesday.  Martinez said that his team wants to reach an agreement with the City on the stipulations contained in the 45 page report in order to avoid filing a law suit regarding the conduct of Albuquerque Police Department. Martinez said, “The negotiations will go on as long as they are productive".

Martinez was accompanied by DOJ attorneys Elizabeth Martinez, Luis Salcedo and one other DOJ attorney.  Approximately 35 community leaders who have involved themselves in the process attended the briefing. The meeting was requested by Jewell Hall, President of the Martin Luther King Memorial Center.

The group petitioned the DOJ for a seat at the negotiating table expressing their distrust of City Hall and APD leadership.  Martinez was adamant in the need to maintain a process in which the City and DOJ can maintain frank and candid discussions.  He said the presence of people outside the DOJ & City would constrain the negotiations.  Martinez said that his main concern is to assure the legitimacy of the consent decree.  He said that while he has an understanding for community involvement, achieving an agreement that meets the APD remedial measure recommendations contained in their 45 page report is vital.  He said that gaining the cooperation of the City and the police was of prime importance in implementing needed changes.  The DOJ team wants an agreement where there is no "foot dragging" by the city or police department.

The April 10 report of the DOJ states that there is a reasonable cause to believe that APD engages in a pattern and practice of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment.  The eight remedial measures APD should implement address use of force policies, the interacting with individuals with mental illness and other disabilities, the tactical units, training, internal investigations and civilian complaints, management and supervision, recruitment and selection, and community policing and oversight.   The report was issued before the Boyd shooting in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains and that killing is being looked on as a criminal matter and not in a civil context.

The three hour meeting was lively in which community members strongly petitioned Martinez and his team for concessions on the issues of class, race and institutional racism.  Martinez reminded the group that the DOJ has not changed its position since their earliest meetings with the community.  Integrity of the process requires that the community not have a "seat at the table".   He also reminded the group that he has just made an oath to protect the citizens of New Mexico and assured them that their rights would not be violated.  He stressed the point that this Albuquerque process is unique in that so much community input has been sought by the DOJ.  He said drafting a consent decree and coming to an agreement with the City and APD is not a destination but a road map on how to give the department back to the residents of Albuquerque.

This piece was written by:

John Cordova

Mr. Córdova worked ten years in Washington, DC and fifteen years in municipal and state governments in New Mexico. For the past 16 years he has owned the Córdova Public Relations Company, serving clients throughout New Mexico and West Texas. He was selected recently as one of New Mexico's power brokers by the New Mexico Business Weekly. His professional career started when he was selected by Pete Dominici to head Albuquerque's community development department and was eventually appointed Albuquerque's first Model Cities Program Director. In 1976, when Domenici became senior senator from New Mexico, he brought Córdova to Washington, DC where he was assigned to organize and manage a joint office for the New Mexico Congressional Delegation. After leaving the delegation office, Córdova served clients whose need to monitor administrative, regulatory, and legislative activities in Washington, DC varied greatly. Some of his clients included The Albuquerque Public Schools, the University of New Mexico, the Adolph Coors Company in Golden, Colorado and various Indian tribes. While in state government, Córdova was director of the State Health Planning Agency, executive assistant to the secretary of Health and Human Services as well as director for Social Services Agency third party contracts. Some of the boards on which he serves include the Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce (secretary), the U. S. Senator Dennis Chavez Foundation (President), the City of Albuquerque Museum Board of Trustees (Vice Chair), and the Lovelace Medical Center Governing Board. Córdova also maintains memberships in the Albuquerque Rotary Club, the Economic Forum, Albuquerque Economic Development, New Mexico First Forum, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce the Public Relations Society of America, and the UNM Alumni Letterman's Club.