Documents reveal when Albuquerque police investigated DWI unit tip
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – New documents that KRQE News 13 has obtained from the Albuquerque Police Department show when APD first looked into a complaint about dirty DWI cops. The documents show that in December 2022, the department’s Investigative Services Division started looking into a complaint of DWI officers taking money to get DWI cases dropped. The tip mentioned Honorio Alba, a DWI officer who is among six officers who were later implicated in the scheme.
Related Coverage:
APD DWI officer under federal probe let suspected drunk driver go home
ABQ Police Dept. provides timeline, names leader for DWI Unit investigation
More cases dismissed in connection to Albuquerque police DWI scandal
Albuquerque city councilors grill APD over transparency in federal investigation
Albuquerque Police Department officers placed on leave following federal raid
Chief Harold Medina has referenced this tip repeatedly since the DWI scandal broke in January. “With what we had, we tried to do what we could, and then things kind of were stalling out,” said Chief Medina in January.
For months, nobody knew what the tip was or what APD did to investigate it. Tuesday night, APD confirmed the caller said officers, including Alba, were getting tipped by workers at three bars or restaurants in the Northeast Heights about patrons leaving those establishments. APD looked at officer’s activity around those locations and found no correlation to traffic stops.
Tuesday night, an APD spokesman says without corroborating evidence and concerned about tipping off officers, APD tabled the investigation. More than a year later in January 2024, it became public that the FBI was investigating APD DWI officers. No Albuquerque police officers have been charged in connection with the scandal.
