ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) –New Mexico State Police told News 13 Thursday afternoon they will not be reviewing Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Police Chief Harold Medina’s car crash last. The Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office also tells News 13 they are forwarding the case to a different agency.
“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,” Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman told News 13 in a statement.
This comes after a city review board declared Medina’s crash to have been ‘non-preventable.’ APD also released a crash report highlighting the chief’s actions in the moments leading up to it.
That investigation says Medina went through the intersection unlawfully, causing the crash. However, it also says they will not pursue criminal charges based on a ruling in State v. Harris: “…injury caused by mere negligence, not amounting to reckless, willful, wanton disregard of consequences, cannot be made the basis of a criminal action.”
“I received the minutes from the fleet crash review board on Chief Medina’s crash, and the board ruled the accident non-preventable,” Superintendent of Police Reform Eric Garcia told the Albuquerque City Council on Wednesday night.
February 17, Medina was on his way to a news conference with his wife in his unmarked police truck. He told investigators two men started fighting and said he saw a gun and heard gunfire. Video shows him hitting the gas and gunning it through the intersection, right into Todd Perchert’s 1966 Gold Mustang.
One member of APD’s Crash Review Board, who ruled it was ‘non-preventable,’ told city council the decision on the crash report was unanimous: “He did take an act, and I think he exercised normal judgment and foresight getting out of the way of a firearm.”
The crash report states Medina’s truck accelerated all the way to 25.5 miles per hour, and he put his foot on the brake .2 seconds before the crash.
“I don’t understand how it be deemed unpreventable when you can tell that Medina’s truck was accelerating into the vehicle that he hit,” said Albuquerque City Councilor Louie Sanchez while questioning Garcia.
The city’s Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel says once the entire case is completed, they will hand it over to the Department of Justice.
“We will suggest to the Department of Justice monitors that they would pull this IA file for review during the appropriate monitoring period,” Sengel said Wednesday night.
“How can you assure us or assure the public or assure us tonight that those findings will be non-biased? Especially because these are all your investigators and everybody that’s reviewed all really fall under you know the mayor’s office?” asked Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis at Wednesday night’s meeting.
APD says the Internal Affairs Department has 120 days from the incident to complete its investigation. The Superintendent of Police Reform, who answers to Mayor Tim Keller, will then review it along with an internal monitor—retired judge Victor Valdez.
APD told News 13 Medina will not receive a traffic citation for running the red light. A spokesperson for APD told News 13 in a statement: “…Officers do not cite for an infraction like that when there extenuating circumstances. In this case, Chief Medina was reacting to a gunshot being fired in his direction, which any reasonable driver would do.”
The district attorney’s office does not know yet which other agency will be reviewing the case.
Perchert’s attorney, James Tawney, sent News 13 a statement in reaction to the latest report:
“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.
