DWI Scandal
Courtesy Cards
I Retired
1. APD DWI Unit
This could be huge.
The District Attorney (Sam Bregman) of Bernalillo County, NM (Albuquerque metro area) has dismissed over 150 DWI (driving while intoxicated) cases in the last few days.
Bregman cited an ongoing “Federal investigation” as the reason and directed all media inquiries to the Feds.
The FBI stated that they have conducted search warrants at the homes of a few Albuquerque Police officers and local attorneys in reference to an alleged “kickback scheme”. The allegation is that officers were working with defense attorneys to not show up for DWI cases in exchange for money.
I hope this is not true and/or that a minimal version of the allegations are what happened.
This will be a national story. And the implications of this could effect the DOJ Consent Decree that the City of Albuquerque has been under for over a decade - that was on its way to sunsetting.
For the most substantive daily reporting on this (and other Albuquerque News) check out ABQ RAW.
2. Courtesy Cards
There is this interesting case in New York City that involves “courtesy cards”.
The allegation is that these are laminated cards issued by police unions, to police officers, for them to distribute to friends and family. The idea is that if a card is presented to an officer during a traffic stop - that the stopping officer not issue the driver a ticket.
One officer (Matthew Bianchi) decided that he was not going to play this game and issued tickets to the chosen people who possess these cards.
Officer Bianchi alleges that he was retaliated against by his supervisors and also by the police union. He has filed a lawsuit in response.
Officer Bianchi claims that he initially filed a complaint with Internal Affairs and that his concerns were ignored. A department spokesperson disputed that claim. Like most stories - the truth is likely somewhere stuck in the middle. Either way - hopefully the result of this is the ending of this ludacris practice.
I understand that this is part of “East coast policing” in some jurisdictions. It seems foreign to me as I grew up in the midwest and spent nearly two decades as a cop in the Southwest. I have never seen anything like this.
This courtesy card scandal seems like the plot of a 1980’s Stallone movie - where he is the only honest cop fighting against an entire corrupt police force and the matter is ultimately solved by an arm wrestling match in a dive bar.
This practice should stop. It’s a bad idea. It spits in the face of the principle that we are all equal under the law. And that ideal is non negotiable.
I Retired
This week I retired from the Albuquerque Police Department after nearly twenty years.
Here is what I wrote on my personal Instagram,
“Nearly 2 decades ago I moved 1300 miles away from home (for reasons I still don’t understand) for a police job in Albuquerque.
•Today was my last day as an Albuquerque police officer.
It’s an important job and one for young, motivated warriors. It should only be a “calling” when you are in it. There’s a lot more out there. #retired”
When I started in 2005 the state of New Mexico offered a 20 year retirement system. I was able to “buy” a year and then burn/use sick and vacation time and only worked 18.5 years and am “retired” at 41 years old.
I worked over ten years as a patrol officer.
I worked over four years in the DWI unit.
And I spent the last four years working as a detective in the Internal Affairs Force Division and the Compliance Bureau - conducting high level administrative investigations and presenting cases to the Force Review Board.
I have also served as an elected union representative for officers in the Albuquerque Police Officers Association.
I have also worked as an instructor and taught classes on DWI and recently served as a “collateral instructor” for the Advanced Training Unit teaching: ABLE (active bystandership in law enforcement), general law block/legal updates, and the class explaining the DOJ Consent Decree.
While working as a cop I went back for a Master’s in Criminal justice and and a law degree (J.D.).
In “retirement” I plan to write more on Substack and create more social media content (follow me everywhere).
Eventually I plan to start working as an attorney - likely in the space of employment law.
I also plan to travel, ski, and trail run more with my wife and kids. As well as hang out with our two huge, naughty Great Pyrenese pups (Miss Cleo and Big Otto).
Congrats on retirement!
Congratulations on your retirement!