APD chief talks DWI officers convicted by feds, explains impact on internal investigation 

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina spoke out for the first time since some of his former officers admitted to participating in a DWI dismissal scheme for years. Beyond the emotions, Medina said the confessions have helped him continue to clean up the department.

“It’s just really shocking to me, like how that line could have been crossed,” Medina told KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret.

The criminal scheme dates back to 1995, spanning generations of the APD’s DWI unit, according to federal investigators. Prominent Albuquerque Defense Attorney Thomas Clear III and Paralegal Ricardo “Rick” Mendez worked with APD officers and other members of local law enforcement to get drivers to pay thousands to make sure their DWI case was dismissed or never filed.

Chief Medina has known, worked alongside, or above, all thirteen APD officers that have been connected to the scheme. So far, three former APD officers who recently worked in the DWI unit admitted to their roles in the scheme. They are Neill Elsman, Honorio Alba Jr. and Joshua Montaño.

“These are individuals that I’ve known during the course of my career. And just to see that they fell into this and they got involved in this is devastating,” Medina said.

“The most disappointing one for me is Josh Montaño,” the chief added.

KRQE News 13 previously reported on a drunk driver who hit and hospitalized Montaño in 2022. During that time, Montaño’s family spoke to KRQE about the financial hit they’d take during his recovery.

Chief Medina said when he visited his officer at the hospital, he handed Montaño’s wife a couple of hundred dollars. More than 200 other people contributed to Montaño’s GoFundMe page which garnered more than $17,000 for his family.

“And it just like this sense of like betrayal, like you want to care so much for these officers. You did. You showed how much you cared for them, and then something like this happens. And it just totally like just brings to prospect how you just never know,” Medina said.

With each officer’s conviction, came a 15-plus page plea agreement which laid out the details of how the criminal enterprise operated, how the officers got away with it, and how long they were involved.

Their confessions revealed a coordinated effort between Clear III and Mendez to make sure the officers did not show up to criminal and administrative DWI court hearings, and got protection from “more senior APD conspiring officers,” according to court documents.

“It does make sense, and it’s extremely concerning. And I’m waiting for this to see where this all turns out,” said Medina.

KRQE Investigates obtained the disciplinary files for the 13 APD officers who were named in connection to the scheme. KRQE found out that if the officers received a missed court notice on their record, they rarely faced discipline. The most severe punishments were “written reprimands.” One officer received a suspension, but there was a note in the files that it wasn’t served right away.

KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret: “Is that the doing of these more senior officers?”

APD Chief Harold Medina: “I don’t know. That’s part of the internal affairs process. That’s part of the review. That’s part of what we’re still assessing. We will have answers at some point.”

Medina said those “more senior officers” could be former members of the DWI unit who received promotions and moved to different departments throughout the past three decades. KRQE learned that at least one of the officers went to the internal affairs unit, but Medina isn’t convinced internal affairs is entirely to blame.

While the internal affairs team triages missed court notices now, the chief said prior to 2020, those were handled by an officer’s supervisor. “I now have to look at individual chains of command for traffic lieutenants, sergeants, where they may have gone out into the field, who the different people may have been, and how they could have handled missed court notices. So it’s going to take a long time. But I committed to this. We will follow up and we will do as much as we can to uncover what we can,” Medina explained.

In Clear’s plea deal, he admitted that he started the criminal enterprise in 1995. Because of that, Medina said he knows more than just 13 officers will be implicated.

“I think we have the tip of the iceberg right there. Everybody seems to be like 2012, 10-ish forward. We’re missing 15 years’ worth of officers in there. So yes, without a doubt, that number is going to grow exponentially,” said Medina.

KRQE Investigative Reporter Ann Pierret asked Medina if he thinks anyone who may have been involved in the scheme is still working at APD. The chief responded, “Do I have suspicions? Yes. I think there could be a couple more left that we’re still on the fence with. Are they being investigated? Yes. Are we on the fence about it? Yes.”

Two of the 13 APD officers named in connection to the scandal are on administrative leave.
The others retired or resigned rather than interviewing with internal affairs.

For any retired officers identified, Medina is going after their police certification. He also said he spoke with Jason Bowie, cabinet secretary for the Department of Public Safety, about former APD officer Tim McCarson, who retired in 2022 and was recently implicated in the DWI scheme

KRQE learned that McCarson took over a contract with the state to train officers on how to recognize drugged and drunk driving. On Tuesday, NMDOT told KRQE that the state had ended that contract and that the Traffic Safety Division is working to issue a new RFP. The division also has been working with the International Association of Police Chiefs to secure an instructor to volunteer in the interim.

Federal investigators are also looking into allegations that members of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and New Mexico State Police were involved in the scheme.

So far, two members of BCSO have been implicated, including an undersheriff who resigned over the weekend.

One state police officer is on paid administrative leave.