BERNALILLO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) – How is the justice system dealing with the fallout of more than 200 dropped cases tied to a federal corruption investigation? Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman sat down with the New Mexico News Podcast to talk about those dismissed DWI cases and how his office is moving forward.
“I have no choice as a prosecutor but to not go forward with a case that relies almost entirely on those officers’ testimony. Because I will never, ever, impugn the integrity of our criminal justice system by convicting someone regardless of what they’ve done, based almost entirely or solely – on the testimony of a dirty cop. I won’t do it,” said Bregman.
The Albuquerque Police Department initially placed six officers on leave as part of their internal investigation. Five of them have since resigned.
Meanwhile, federal investigators are looking into whether certain officers were working with a local defense attorney and unlawfully accepting money in return for a dropped DWI charge. No one has been charged in this case yet.
As far as past cases some of these officers have been involved in, Bregman said he is holding the line on DWI convictions involving these officers. “We do have some defense council including some at the public defender’s office and they are asking the court to undo certain convictions, we are not agreeing to that. We’re having specific hearings on each and every one of those,” added Bregman.
Bregman also pointed out his office has convicted roughly 1,300 people for DWI over the last year. “This is a big unfortunate disaster that took place, but we’re going to get through it. I can tell you my office is committed as much as ever to prosecute DWI to the full extent of the law,” said District Attorney Bregman.
You can listen to the extended interview with Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman on the New Mexico News Podcast.
