Albuquerque Police Chief Says Officers Can Turn Off Body Cameras

Chief Medina, en route to a press conference with his wife, diverted to inspect a homeless encampment, inadvertently entering an intersection where a violent altercation between two homeless men had escalated into gunfire. According to Lt. James Ortiz's Internal Affairs report, while Medina's decision to enter the intersection was not disputed, his driving practices were deemed unsafe. Ortiz criticized Medina for navigating through a busy intersection without ensuring the safety of himself and others, stating that such actions constituted a failure to drive responsibly. The report further highlights a procedural misstep by the Civilian Review Board (CRB), which reviewed Medina's crash despite department policy prohibiting the board from examining incidents that result in serious injury or fatalities. Lt. Ortiz expressed concern that the CRB should not have been involved in this case, emphasizing that allowing the review was a violation of established policy. He noted that the decision to permit the review stemmed from a belief that someone within Internal Affairs sought transparency regarding the incident. Additionally, Medina faced scrutiny for not activating his body camera following the crash, a requirement for police interactions. Ortiz pointed out that the victim of the incident informed Medina he was unharmed and attempted to leave the scene, but this critical interaction was not recorded. Medina's rationale for not activating the camera raised eyebrows, as he suggested that officers might have a constitutional right to avoid recording interactions that could potentially incriminate them.