Before Ferguson, there was Albuquerque

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Less than three weeks before Michael Brown's fatal shooting in Ferguson, Mo., opened a national debate on the use of deadly force by police, city and federal authorities here set forth a plan to transform a local law enforcement agency with a stunningly violent reputation.

In some ways, the experience could serve as a lesson for Ferguson.

Since 2009, according to city records, Albuquerque Police Department officers have been involved in 47 shootings, 32 of which resulted in deaths — a body count that Police Chief Gorden Eden said has called attention to a "systemic failure in our ability to track employee misconduct.''

Civil lawsuits have cost the city millions of dollars. More than that, a Justice Department review of at least 20 of those civilian killings concluded earlier this year that a "majority ... were unconstitutional.''

Though municipal officials have acknowledged deep-rooted, institutional problems, Eden bluntly warned that a fix will not be easy.

"I believe there are people on the force who shouldn't be on the force,'' the chief told USA TODAY. How many officers, and the depths of their alleged transgressions, Eden would not say. But more problematic, because of the difficulties of enforcing retroactive discipline within bounds of a union contract, the chief said the city may simply be unable to remove problem officers, even with the Justice Department's intervention.

"Yes, we may be stuck with them,'' he said.

The two-year federal inquiry in Albuquerque, whose residents — as in Ferguson — recently protested in streets shrouded in tear gas against increasingly violent police, offers an eerily familiar template for the wide-ranging investigation the Justice Department is now promising in Ferguson.

Last week, Justice officials notified the Ferguson Police Department that it was launching a broad investigation into the policing practices of the city beyond last month's deadly shooting of Brown that sparked weeks of unrest in the St. Louis suburb. The inquiry, to be conducted by Justice's Civil Rights Division, will examine years of data to determine whether the department engaged in a so-called pattern and practice of discriminatory policing and the use of excessive force.

In Albuquerque, the same type of examination made public in April offered a startling picture of the APD, the state's largest municipal law enforcement agency.

Not only had police used deadly force when there was little or no imminent danger, they fired on people whose compromised mental states posed more of a threat to themselves than to others. Even in cases when the Albuquerque officers used stun guns, they often went too far.

Once, the federal review stated, officers fired numerous Taser rounds (designed to subdue suspects by electric shock) at a man who had doused himself in gasoline, setting the suspect afire.

As in Ferguson, an appeal for reform reached a crescendo following a controversial shooting: police fired on a mentally ill homeless man in March who had been camping illegally in the local foothills.

The death of James Boyd, whose fatal confrontation with heavily armed officers was captured on video, sparked protests and a criminal investigation that is nearing completion.

"Unfortunately, our community has had many more cases just as brutal as James Boyd's killing,'' said Jewel Hall, president of Albuquerque's Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Center and among the most vocal critics of local police tactics.

"It is beautiful to raise your voice in protest, and we have,'' Jewel said. "But the only way to change things is to have a seat at the table. Right now, we don't feel like we have that.''

Mayor Richard Berry said any attempt at meaningful change within the police department will require the community's full participation or city leaders and federal authorities will likely "fail'' to restore a broken public trust.

"We have to have parties on both sides of the table striving for the same outcome, which is constitutional and effective policing at the highest levels,'' Berry said.

Though "robust'' efforts are being made to unite the community, Eden said the city remains largely aligned in three camps: those who remain supportive of the department despite the excessive actions of its officers; another contingent whose public confidence in the police is seriously sagging; and "a group who doesn't support us no matter what the circumstances.''

"We are up against it in a community where we have to go in and regain the public's trust,'' the chief said.

DEADLY END TO STANDOFF

Mike Gomez concedes his 22-year-old son was troubled. Yet he refuses to believe that his youngest child ever represented a threat, let alone a deadly one.

On the day Alan Gomez was killed by Albuquerque police in May 2011, the father said he had urged his son to seek help for substance abuse at a rehabilitation center.

That night, the aspiring mixed martial arts fighter ended up at his brother's home where — apparently under the influence of drugs — he began "hallucinating'' that gang members were gathering outside, the father said.

The erratic behavior prompted the brother's girlfriend to call police, reporting that Gomez would not allow her or her boyfriend to leave. The woman told police Gomez had a gun, only to report later that he was no longer in possession of the weapon, according to a federal review of the incident.

After officers gathered outside, Gomez was observed walking in and out of the front door several times.'

As the standoff approached nearly an hour, Gomez again emerged from the front door. This time, as he turned to go back inside, an officer fired on Gomez, striking him under the left shoulder. In minutes, he was dead. No gun or other weapon was found "anywhere near'' Gomez's body, federal investigators said.

"When the officer shot Gomez, the circumstances would not have suggested to a reasonable officer that there was an immediate threat,'' the Justice review concluded. "No one's life was in danger and an APD negotiator was on his way to the scene.''

Although the Justice report found that the shooting officer — Sean Wallace — had given "inconsistent statements,'' a Bernalillo County investigation concluded that the shooting was justified.

"Officer Wallace fired his weapon because he feared that Alan was going back into the residence to harm the hostages,'' according to the Bernalillo County district attorney's report of the shooting.

That review also stated that shortly before the shooting, Wallace saw something in Gomez's hand (later thought to be a black plastic spoon) and "believed that it was the firearm described earlier.'' That firearm, a .22-caliber rifle, was later found in a closet inside the home.

Months after Wallace was cleared, the city agreed to settle a wrongful death lawsuit with Gomez's family for nearly $1 million.

The shooting, according to the Justice Department, was Wallace's third in the line of duty. It also was his second deadly encounter since 2004, when he killed a man while serving with the New Mexico State Police. In all three shootings, the Justice report said, the subjects were unarmed.

Eden said Wallace remains on the force and has been promoted to the rank of sergeant.

Wallace could not be reached for comment. But Albuquerque Police Association President Stephanie Lopez described the Justice accounts of the Gomez shooting and others that federal investigators reviewed as "Monday morning quarterbacking.''

"At no time, did they (federal authorities) interview the (officers) involved in these incidents,'' Lopez said.

Though the chief said Wallace still is authorized to carry a weapon, he said the sergeant has been assigned to administrative duty and "does not respond to calls for service'' from the public.

"One thing I can assure you of is that each of these officers (involved in a shooting) is thoroughly evaluated for their fitness for duty,'' Eden said.

Eden, who took command of the force in February, said he did not know if the assignment was a condition of Wallace's return to duty.

MENTALLY ILL MOST VULNERABLE

More than three years after Gomez's death, the incident — and a roster of other questionable uses of police force — are featured prominently in the Justice Department's 46-page, blistering review of policing in Albuquerque.

Unlike Ferguson, where much attention has been focused on a racially charged conflict between a mostly white police force and the largely African-American community, the emphasis here highlights another potentially vulnerable population.

"A significant amount of the force we reviewed was used against persons with mental illness and in crisis,'' the report concluded.

Last year, a lawsuit brought by the family of a physically and mentally compromised Iraq War Army veteran who was killed by police in 2010, resulted in a $10 million judgment against the city. A settlement was later reached in the case for nearly $7 million.

Kenneth Ellis III was shot outside a convenience store while holding a gun to his head, threatening suicide.

"While it is true that Ellis was holding a gun and thus presented a clear threat of harm,'' federal investigators said, "there was never any indication from Ellis' words or actions that he intended to use the gun on anyone but himself.''

But the March shooting death of Boyd, the mentally ill homeless man, spotlighted Albuquerque's struggles like never before.

Although video of the encounter appears to show that Boyd, who had displayed knives during a standoff with officers, was turning away from police when he was shot, Eden told reporters after the incident that the shooting was "justified.''

Eden has since said that he "regrets'' that comment, suggesting that it may have been interpreted as a prejudgment of the police action.

"What I should have said is that there is a process in place'' to make that judgment, he said.

As part of a raft of changes the city already has begun implementing, Berry and Eden said they are moving quickly to improve potentially volatile police encounters with the mentally ill and emotionally disturbed.

In the next 18 months, Berry said every officer in the department will be provided crisis intervention training, a curriculum specifically designed to de-escalate encounters with the mentally ill and emotionally disturbed.

"We will be the first and only department in the country to have crisis intervention training for 100% of our officers,'' Berry said. "This has to be a process built between the community and the department that serves them.''