ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque Police Department Chief Harold Medina says the department has seen an increase in the number of cadets that have entered the police academy and joined the force. That comes after the city has put a list of problems tied to the academy behind them. A new report shows the city has settled lawsuits tied to the actions of former academy staff.
Former academy Commander Angela Byrd was fired in October 2020 when APD said she explicitly threatened cadets who accused her of misconduct. Byrd was secretly recorded at the time threatening cadets after someone sent a letter to HR about Byrd.
In 2022, she filed a whistleblower lawsuit, claiming she was praised by the Department of Justice for her work in the academy. Former Chief Mike Geier resigned in September 2020 and then Byrd was fired in October. She’s now settled her lawsuit with the city for $85,000.
Former APD Cadet Nan Zhang is originally from China and says the problems with APD’s training academy staff started almost instantly when she joined in early 2020. Her dream of being an officer quickly faded and she says she was forced to quit. “They began to look at me weird… I was… they started to call… I became, ‘Cadet COVID,” said Zhang in 2021. Zhang’s public records lawsuit against the city was also recently settled for $105,000.
The Zhang and Byrd settlements were included in the most recent round of the city’s Quarterly Litigation Report, covering lawsuits that the city settled between October and December. Two other cadets from Byrd’s class also sued the city. Those have been settled.
