Frustrations amid review of Albuquerque police chief crash
"You're either going to get out of the car and address the threat, or you're going to move to a tactical advantage," Willoughby said. The Albuquerque Police Department's Fleet Crash Review Board has determined that a shooting incident involving Chief Harold Medina involving a crash involving Medina on February 17 was "non-preventable". The board's president, Shaun Willoughby, expressed frustration at the lack of transparency regarding the investigation into the crash and subsequent arrests. The city council has invited State police to review the crash review board. The crash review will not be reviewed by the department. The police chief was involved in a physical altercation with two men shortly after the crash. Medina was found guilty of running from a red light and causing a traffic accident. The incident was reported to have occurred during a brandished firearm brandished at the scene.
Published : 4 weeks ago by https://www.facebook.com/, Faith Egbuonu in
"You're either going to get out of the car and address the threat, or you're going to move to a tactical advantage," Willoughby said
NIGHT’S MEETING LAST NIGHT AT THE COUNCIL MEETING, THERE WAS A COMMENT WE SHOULD HAVE GOT OUT OF THE CAR AND AFFECTED IT. ARREST. OKAY, ALL RIGHT. LET ME PUT MY CAPE ON TO AND MAKE SURE THAT I’M BULLETPROOF. LIKE THERE’S ALL KINDS OF POLICIES. WHAT’S THE LAWFUL OBJECTIVE? SEAN WILLOUGHBY WITH ALBUQUERQUE POLICE UNION DISAPPOINTED WITH QUESTIONS RAISED AT WEDNESDAY’S CITY COUNCIL MEETING. IT’S SO. CONCERNING AND DISAPPOINTING AND IT ALMOST FEELS DISINGENUOUS FOR TWO FORMER POLICE OFFICERS THAT ARE SITTING ON COUNCIL, NOT TO GIVE THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT TO HOW FAST THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS PROFESSION. IN THIS PROFESSION. APD’S FLEET REVIEW BOARD DETERMINING A CRASH INVOLVING ALBUQUERQUE POLICE CHIEF MEDINA WAS NOT PREVENTABLE IF THE CHIEF WOULD HAVE MADE A POLICE ACTION AND EXECUTED HIS POLICE POWERS AND MADE AN ARREST IMMEDIATELY, WE WOULD NOT HAVE A TRAFFIC ACCIDENT. WE WOULD NOT HAVE AN INVESTIGATION. HOW CAN YOU SAY THAT THIS IS NOT PREVENTABLE? MAKE THE DECISION. MORE THAN A MONTH AFTER THE CRASH AT THE MEETING. BUT HOW COULD YOU, I GUESS ASSURE US OR ASSURE THE PUBLIC OR ASSURE US TONIGHT THAT, UM, THAT THOSE FINDINGS WILL BE, YOU KNOW, NON-BIASED? THAT’S A FAIR QUESTION. UH, WE DO ANSWER, UH, MY SIDE OF THE DEPARTMENT ANSWERS TO THE MAYOR’S OFFICE. HOW MANY ARE SWORN OFFICERS. THERE WERE ONE IT’SIF. THERE WERE FOUR SWORN OFFICERS AND ONE CIVILIAN PERSONNEL. POLICE TELLING US MEDINA WAS FLEEING FROM GUNFIRE WHILE CHECKING ON A HOMELESS ENCAMPMENT JUST NORTH OF CENTRAL. AND WHAT THE ACCIDENT REVIEW BOARD IS PAYING ATTENTION TO IS THE ADMINISTRATOR OF POLICIES OF THE DEPARTMENT AND THE ADMINISTRATIVE POLICIES DICTATING PREVENTABLE AND NON PREVENTABLE ACCIDENTS HAVE A CAVEAT IN THEM TO TO SAY, IF THERE IS A MISHAP AND YOU’RE TRYING TO AVOID THE MISHAP, THEY DON’T CONSIDER THAT ACCIDENT PREVENTABLE FROM A TRAFFIC CODE STANDPOINT, HE’S AT FAULT FOR THE ACCIDENT. HE RAN A RED LIGHT, RIGHT? HE COULD HAVE BEEN RUNNING CODE. HE COULD HAVE BEEN AN EMERGENCY VEHICLE. HE RAN A RED LIGHT. HE COLLIDED WITH THE VEHICLE. WILLOUGHBY GOES ON TO SAY THE. URGENT NEED FOR PUBLIC TRANSPARENCY HINDERS THINGS. ITS A PART OF PUBLIC RECORD. YOU CAN WRITE HOW MUCH MORE TRANSPARENT YOU’RE 11 YEARS INTO A CONSENT DECREE. WE’VE BEEN MONITORED BY THE DOJ, BUT NOW, BECAUSE OF TH
Video above: The Albuquerque Police Department Fleet Crash Review Board determined a shooting that led to a crash involving APD police chief Harold Medina on Saturday, February 17, was "non-preventable." Members of the crash review board were faced with questions from city councilors during a city council meeting on Wednesday, April 3. The city invited State police to review the crash. NMSP chief Troy Weisler told KOAT the department will not be reviewing the crash.Update: President of the Albuquerque Police Officers' Association, Shaun Willoughby, weighs in below.MORE: Fleet Crash Review board: Chief Medina's crash was 'non-preventable'Background, crash involving Chief MedinaAccording to Albuquerque police, chief Medina witnessed two men in a physical altercation shortly before he and his wife were "in the direct line of fire and immediate danger." A spokesperson for APD states, a firearm was brandished, and gunshots ensued. As a result, Medina accelerated his unmarked black APD Ford truck forward and struck Todd Perchert's 1966 gold Ford Mustang, while Perchert was traveling eastbound on Central."All I kept hearing was 'the police chief was running away. He was running away, he was running away,' And my husband is injured because he was running away. And my heart was just- it still hurts today to think about it." -Todd Perchert's wife, DanielleRelated: Investigation into crash involving Chief Medina"Last night at the council meeting, there was a comment, 'Well, you should've just got out of the car and made an arrest,' Oh, OK. Alright. Let me put my cape on, too, and make sure that I'm bulletproof, there's all kinds of policies," Willoughby told KOAT."What's the lawful objective? Did you get a force of raid together? Do you have less lethal? All of these questions that need to be answered, before you engage a suspect of this caliber," Willoughby said.Snippets from City Council meeting, Wednesday April 3 City Councilor, Louis Sanchez: If the chief would have made a police action and they executed his police powers and made an arrest immediately, we would not have a traffic accident. We would not have an investigation. How can you say that this is not preventable?">>Related: Victim of crash involving Albuquerque police chief demands accountability City Councilor President, Dan Lewis: How could you, I guess — assure us or assure the public or assure us tonight that those findings will be non-biased?Crash Review Board: Council president, that's a fair question. We do answer — My side of the department answers to the mayor's office.How many are sworn officers?Crash Review Board: There were one — Let's see, there were four sworn officers and one civilian personnel.Related: City councilor withdraws motion for vote of 'no confidence' in police chief"The whole thing is really frustrating for me, because I don't really know what anybody expected this man to do. There are two options. You're either going to get out of the car and address the threat, or you're going to move to a tactical advantage. He chose to move. The threat was already upon him, actively shooting. There was a weapon in advance. He was in an unmarked," Willoughby told KOAT. Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines from KOAT Action 7 News"The person didn't know that he was shooting in the direction of law enforcement. He chose to move. It happens fast. This happens all the time. Police officers know this, and it's so concerning and disappointing — it almost feels disingenuous for two former police officers that are sitting on counsel not to give the benefit of the doubt to how fast things happen in this profession," Willoughby said."What the accident review board is paying attention to is the administrative policies of the department. The administrative policies dictating preventable and non-preventable accidents have a caveat in them to say if there is a mishap and you're trying to avoid the mishap, they don't consider that accident preventable," Willoughby said."When the department stood up there last night and said, 'we voted through this process that this accident was not preventable,' based on the totality of circumstances and the facts, they're speaking from an administrative standpoint," Willoughby said. Traffic Violation"From a traffic code standpoint, he's at fault for the accident. He ran a red light. He could have been in an emergency vehicle. He ran a red light. He collided with the vehicle. We'll be doing a review of how officers have been treated with this particular policy," Willoughby told KOAT. "We'll definitely be reminded of this situation going forward as we represent officers in the Albuquerque Police Department. Is it tragic that somebody got injured? Of course, it is. Nobody wants to see anybody get injured. I totally understand. That doesn't take away from the tragedy that they're experiencing in their life and the recovery time and the healing," Willoughby said.Transparency"We're past the age of non-transparency. We have a civilian police oversight we've had from 1984. We are one of the most highly scrutinized agencies in the nation. We've been under a DOJ consent decree for the last 11 years. Transparency in the Albuquerque Police Department— I think they're too transparent in certain circumstances and they give too much information before they have all the facts.This transparency argument always comes into 'let's give everybody everything because we don't want to look like we're not being transparent' to 'waiting a little while when you have the facts' and then making a public comment with all of the information."We're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't in every situation. The only misstep of the police department is they should have formally investigated this and got all the facts. Within hours on the scene, we had public comment from the mayor. Maybe I would have held back on that for a little while, made sure that we knew everything before we made public comment. MORE: Albuquerque officers' homes raided in DWI investigationI don't understand how you could be fighting as a city entity, city council, wanting and congratulating us to being self-compliant with this mandated court settlement agreement. Then, when it comes to an accident involving one of our employees who is the chief, we're not trusted to handle that investigation. I think that's embarrassing.You're 11 years into a consent decree. We've been monitored by the DOJ. We have a DOJ 5 to $6 million a year that analyzes every attribute of this police department. We are in the brink of earning self-monitoring of this police department. Why now? Why now are we not trusting ourselves to look into this case? After all the work we've done, the Federal Court has given us sanction to be self-monitoring on almost 30% of the entire, but because of the politics, we're not competent enough to do a traffic investigation. Are you kidding me? Give me a break," Willoughby said.Albuquerque Police Department Standard Operating Procedures involving crashes"CRB personnel shall review all crashes involving Department-issued vehicles, to determine whether or not the crash was preventable or non-preventable except for crashes that result in a fatality or serious injury, consistent with SOP Metro Traffic Division."Fatal or serious injury crashes shall be reviewed by Traffic Division personnel who have been certified in crash reconstruction. Under the SOP Metro Traffic Division/Sanction classifications and additional duties:It reads: "Serious-Injury Crash, a crash involving serious injuries that could result in death."Faith Egbuonu: What determines a serious injury that can result in death? What are the specifics of that? The victim suffered:Broken collarbone and shoulder blade8 broken ribs (Reconstructed with titanium plates after surgery)Collapsed lungLacerations to left ear and headMultiple gashes to faceSeven-hour surgeryHospitalized with epidural painkiller and chest tube for nearly a week.Gilbert Medina, spokesperson for APD: Technically, this was not initially considered a serious injury crash. The sergeant was told by the hospital that the victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries and was expected to make a full recovery. Still, out of an abundance of caution, the fatal crash responded and conducted a full investigation. Only at the end of the on-scene investigation, when the sergeant contacted the hospital to get an updated condition of the victim, he was told the victim’s injuries were more serious than expected, although he was still expected to recover. Either way, the crash was thoroughly investigated. Perchert Family Statement, Attorney"We are disappointed with the findings by the investigator of the Fatal Crash Unit, who states the chief failed to activate his traffic his emergency lights and sirens. Meaning, he knowingly engaged in actions that posed a substantial risk of harm to others – his actions caused devastating injuries to our client, Todd Perchert. He never gave our client the chance to stop or slow down because the chief never activated his emergency lights or sirens. The chief also put other drivers' lives at risk. ART bus station video shows the chief weaving through two other vehicles before slamming into Perchert's Ford Mustang. These actions display the chief's poor judgment and complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of others." – James Tawney of Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C.District Attorney Office Statement following findings of crash investigation"We have not received all the discovery in this matter. We want the community to have faith in the judicial process and ensure fairness and an unbiased review of this case, so I have made the decision to refer it to another prosecuting agency," – Sam Bregman, Bernalillo County District AttorneyThis is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.
Video above: The Albuquerque Police Department Fleet Crash Review Board determined a shooting that led to a crash involving APD police chief Harold Medina on Saturday, February 17, was "non-preventable." Members of the crash review board were faced with questions from city councilors during a city council meeting on Wednesday, April 3. The city invited State police to review the crash. NMSP chief Troy Weisler told KOAT the department will not be reviewing the crash.
Update: President of the Albuquerque Police Officers' Association, Shaun Willoughby, weighs in below. According to Albuquerque police, chief Medina witnessed two men in a physical altercation shortly before he and his wife were "in the direct line of fire and immediate danger." A spokesperson for APD states, a firearm was brandished, and gunshots ensued. As a result, Medina accelerated his unmarked black APD Ford truck forward and struck Todd Perchert's 1966 gold Ford Mustang, while Perchert was traveling eastbound on Central.
"All I kept hearing was 'the police chief was running away. He was running away, he was running away,' And my husband is injured because he was running away. And my heart was just- it still hurts today to think about it." -Todd Perchert's wife, Danielle "Last night at the council meeting, there was a comment, 'Well, you should've just got out of the car and made an arrest,' Oh, OK. Alright. Let me put my cape on, too, and make sure that I'm bulletproof, there's all kinds of policies," Willoughby told KOAT. "What's the lawful objective? Did you get a force of raid together? Do you have less lethal? All of these questions that need to be answered, before you engage a suspect of this caliber," Willoughby said. City Councilor, Louis Sanchez: If the chief would have made a police action and they executed his police powers and made an arrest immediately, we would not have a traffic accident. We would not have an investigation. How can you say that this is not preventable?" City Councilor President, Dan Lewis: How could you, I guess — assure us or assure the public or assure us tonight that those findings will be non-biased? Crash Review Board: Council president, that's a fair question. We do answer — My side of the department answers to the mayor's [Tim Keller] office. How many are sworn officers? Crash Review Board: There were one — Let's see, there were four sworn officers and one civilian personnel. Related: City councilor withdraws motion for vote of 'no confidence' in police chief
"The whole thing is really frustrating for me, because I don't really know what anybody expected this man [Chief Medina] to do. There are two options. You're either going to get out of the car and address the threat, or you're going to move to a tactical advantage. He chose to move. The threat was already upon him, actively shooting. There was a weapon in advance. He was in an unmarked," Willoughby told KOAT. "The person didn't know that he was shooting in the direction of law enforcement. He chose to move. It happens fast. This happens all the time. Police officers know this, and it's so concerning and disappointing — it almost feels disingenuous for two former police officers that are sitting on counsel not to give the benefit of the doubt to how fast things happen in this profession," Willoughby said. "What the accident review board is paying attention to is the administrative policies of the department. The administrative policies dictating preventable and non-preventable accidents have a caveat in them to say if there is a mishap and you're trying to avoid the mishap, they don't consider that accident preventable," Willoughby said. "When the department stood up there last night and said, 'we voted through this process that this accident was not preventable,' based on the totality of circumstances and the facts, they're speaking from an administrative standpoint," Willoughby said. "From a traffic code standpoint, he's at fault for the accident. He ran a red light. He could have been in an emergency vehicle. He ran a red light. He collided with the vehicle. We'll be doing a review of how officers have been treated with this particular policy," Willoughby told KOAT. "We'll definitely be reminded of this situation going forward as we represent officers in the Albuquerque Police Department. Is it tragic that somebody got injured? Of course, it is. Nobody wants to see anybody get injured. I totally understand. That doesn't take away from the tragedy that they're experiencing in their life and the recovery time and the healing," Willoughby said. "We're past the age of non-transparency. We have a civilian police oversight we've had from 1984. We are one of the most highly scrutinized agencies in the nation. We've been under a DOJ consent decree for the last 11 years. Transparency in the Albuquerque Police Department— I think they're too transparent in certain circumstances and they give too much information before they have all the facts. This transparency argument always comes into 'let's give everybody everything because we don't want to look like we're not being transparent' to 'waiting a little while when you have the facts' and then making a public comment with all of the information. "We're damned if we do, we're damned if we don't in every situation. The only misstep of the police department is they should have formally investigated this and got all the facts. Within hours on the scene, we had public comment from the mayor. Maybe I would have held back on that for a little while, made sure that we knew everything before we made public comment. I don't understand how you could be fighting as a city entity, city council, wanting and congratulating us to being self-compliant with this mandated court settlement agreement. Then, when it comes to an accident involving one of our employees who is the chief, we're not trusted to handle that investigation. I think that's embarrassing. You're 11 years into a consent decree. We've been monitored by the DOJ. We have a DOJ 5 to $6 million a year that analyzes every attribute of this police department. We are in the brink of earning self-monitoring of this police department. Why now? Why now are we not trusting ourselves to look into this case? After all the work we've done, the Federal Court has given us sanction to be self-monitoring on almost 30% of the entire, but because of the politics, we're not competent enough to do a traffic investigation. Are you kidding me? Give me a break," Willoughby said. "CRB personnel shall review all crashes involving Department-issued vehicles, to determine whether or not the crash was preventable or non-preventable for crashes that result in a fatality or serious injury, consistent with SOP Metro Traffic Division."
• Fatal or serious injury crashes shall be reviewed by Traffic Division personnel who have been certified in crash reconstruction. Under the SOP Metro Traffic Division/Sanction classifications and additional duties: It reads: "Serious-Injury Crash, a crash involving serious injuries that could result in death." Faith Egbuonu: What determines a serious injury that can result in death? What are the specifics of that?
• Hospitalized with epidural painkiller and chest tube for nearly a week. Gilbert Medina, spokesperson for APD: Technically, this was not initially considered a serious injury crash. The sergeant was told by the hospital that the victim did not suffer life-threatening injuries and was expected to make a full recovery. Still, out of an abundance of caution, the fatal crash responded and conducted a full investigation. Only at the end of the on-scene investigation, when the sergeant contacted the hospital to get an updated condition of the victim, he was told the victim’s injuries were more serious than expected, although he was still expected to recover. Either way, the crash was thoroughly investigated. "We are disappointed with the findings by the investigator of the Fatal Crash Unit, who states the chief failed to activate his traffic his emergency lights and sirens. Meaning, he knowingly engaged in actions that posed a substantial risk of harm to others – his actions caused devastating injuries to our client, Todd Perchert. He never gave our client the chance to stop or slow down because the chief never activated his emergency lights or sirens. The chief also put other drivers' lives at risk. ART bus station video shows the chief weaving through two other vehicles before slamming into Perchert's Ford Mustang. These actions display the chief's poor judgment and complete disregard for the safety and wellbeing of others." – James Tawney of Tawney, Acosta & Chaparro P.C. "We have not received all the discovery in this matter. We want the community to have faith in the judicial process and ensure fairness and an unbiased review of this case, so I have made the decision to refer it to another prosecuting agency," – Sam Bregman, Bernalillo County District Attorney This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it .