FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
July 23, 2014
CONTACT: Micah McCoy, [email protected] or (972) 740-6675
ALBUQUERQUE, NM—Today, the APD Forward campaign called on Albuquerque Police Department (APD) Chief Gorden Eden to invite an external law enforcement organization to investigate the July 22, 2014 officer involved shooting that resulted in the death of Jeremy Robertson. Traditionally, APD detectives have led official inquiries into shootings by APD officers. The campaign also called for Chief Eden to immediately release any footage that the APD collected during the incident.
“We need an impartial, external investigation of this shooting,” said Nancy Koenigsberg, Legal Director at Disability Rights New Mexico. “The Department of Justice findings letter exposed the problems APD has in holding its own officers accountable for use of excessive force. By engaging a credible outside organization to investigate this shooting, APD can show it is serious about restoring accountability and public trust to the department.”
Since 2010, APD officers have shot and killed 27 people. Of these shootings that APD has investigated internally, they did not find a single one to be unjustified. This is in sharp contrast to the Department of Justice’s report which found that the majority of these shootings were unjustified.
“We also call on APD to release the lapel camera footage without delay,” said APD Forward spokesperson Fabrizio Bertoletti. “The public needs to understand what happened on Tuesday and why another person lies dead.”
APD Forward is currently collecting signatures from Albuquerque residents requesting an independent investigation and immediate release of lapel camera footage of the shooting. The petition is hosted at the website www.apdforward.org/petition72314.
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APD Forward is a community-based campaign led by concerned Albuquerque citizens working to make the Albuquerque Police Department the responsible, professional, and community-friendly police department our city deserves. For more information, go to www.apdforward.org.