On March 8, the Albuquerque Journal published the following guest opinion column by Pete Dinelli entitled “Chief Medina should be fired and prosecuted in connection to crash”:
“On Feb. 17, APD Chief Harold Medina and his wife were in an unmarked APD truck on their way to participate in a press conference with Mayor Keller when Medina decided to stop and call for APD to clear a homeless encampment.
Medina reported two people getting into a fight, a gun was pulled and pointed toward Medina and his wife, and a shot was fired.
Chief Medina admitted taking off driving through a red light saying there was no oncoming traffic. Medina drove south through three lanes of traffic on Central and T-Boned a gold-colored Ford Mustang. The driver of the Mustang was taken to the hospital in critical condition. Both vehicles were likely totaled.
Medina admitted he did not have his lapel camera on and referred the accident to the superintendent of police reform for investigation. Medina has yet to be charged with any traffic violations.
On the day of the accident, Mayor Keller immediately went to the defense of Chief Medina and said in part:
“This is actually (Medina) … disrupting an altercation, a shooting, trying to do what’s right. (His actions were) above and beyond what you expect from a chief, and I’m grateful for Harold Medina. … (Chief Medina is) arguably the most important person right now in these times in our city.”
On Feb. 20, Medina did an APD personnel video briefing and essentially admitted guilt and said in part “I was the victim of this traffic accident, and it’s a direct impact of what gun violence is doing to our community.” Medina said he thought the Mustang would pass through the intersection and said “I looked to my left, and the intersection was cleared. … (A)nd I thought that the car was going to pass before I got there, and it did not, and unfortunately, I struck a vehicle.”
A released surveillance totally contradicts Medina, revealing oncoming traffic and Medina slowly creeping between two vehicles with Medina then accelerating to cross Central at a high rate of speed and crashing into the Mustang.
Medina violated the following APD Standard Operating Procedures:
- Medina failed to activate his lapel camera in a timely manner.
- Chief Medina’s wife is not authorized for police ride-along. He involved his wife in a patrol and enforcement action when he decided to report for removal a homeless encampment and it escalated into a felony incident with Medina’s wife being placed in harm’s way.
- Chief Medina failed to take his wife to a safe, convenient location before he attempted to take action and investigate.
- Chief Medina did not have his vehicle’s emergency warning equipment engaged when he made the initiate stop to investigate, nor when he took off to flee from the scene.
- Chief Medina did not drive his vehicle with “due regard for the safety of others.” He drove with reckless disregard for the safety of others and ran a red light driving his vehicle without the vehicle’s emergency equipment on.
- Chief Medina did not follow Standard Operating Procedures dealing with the investigation of “Crashes Involving Department Issued Vehicles.”
APD Chief Harold Medina must be held 100% responsible for the car crash critically injuring a private citizen. Chief Medina should be charged with reckless driving and be terminated “for cause” for the violations of APD’s Standard Operating procedures.”
Pete Dinelli is a former Albuquerque city councilor, former chief public safety officer for the city, and former chief deputy district attorney.
The link to the Albuquerque Journal guest column with photos is here:
The headlines and links to 3 related Dinelli blog articles are here:
APD Chief Medina And Wife In Car Crash While Fleeing Gunfire In City Vehicle; Driver Of Other Car Sent to Hospital In Critical Condition; Chief Medina Likely Violated Numerous Standard Operating Procedures; Mayor Tim Keller Should Place Medina On Administrative Leave And Request BCSO Or State Police To Investigate Incident
Released Video Of Chief Medina’s Car Crash Contradicts Medina’s Version Of Events; Medina And Keller Claim Medina Victim; APD Launches Internal Affairs Investigation And Motor Unit Investigation; Place Medina On Administrative Leave And Request BCSO Or State Police To Investigate Incident
Mayor Keller Proclaims Critically Injured Driver Involved In Chief’s Accident “Wrong Place At The Wrong Time”; APD Family Ride Policy Under Scrutiny After Chief Medina’s Weekend Crash; Both Keller And Medina Are Embarrassment With Their Words And Actions