On Friday, March 13, Mayor Tim Keller announced the names of three final candidates who are being considered for appointment as the next Chief of Police of the Albuquerque Police Department. After interviews of seven finalists, the search was narrowed down to the following three:
- APD Interim Chief Cecily Barker
- Dallas Assistant Police Chief Gilberto Garza
- Former Seattle Assistant Police Chief Perry Tarrant
Mayor Keller said he is confident that he and his administration will be ready to announce a new police chief by the end of the month.
NOT ALL 19 APPLICANTS IDENTIFIED
A total of 19 people applied for the position but only seven applicants were interviewed. The original 19 people who applied to be the new APD Chief included Interim Chief Cicily Baker. Among the applicants, all but two have ties to New Mexico. Three were women. Interim Police Chief Cecily Barker and Cmdr. Andrew Rodriguez were the internal candidates and there were 3 existing police chiefs, with 2 having ties to New Mexico.
https://www.koat.com/article/submitted-applications-albuquerque-police-chief-job/70282016
Keller’s press aide, Dan Mayfield, sent out a news release stating that Mayor Keller was interviewing the seven candidates. However, the mayor’s office did not release the names of the 7 candidates despite multiple requests made by KOAT-TV. Mayor Tim Keller declined to give the names of the 7 finalists saying that releasing the names would be disrespectful to the candidates’ current employers.
Paul Guessing, with the Rio Grande Foundation, a conservative advocacy organization, suggested to KOAT TV that Interim Police Chief Cecily Barker already may have the job. Guessing said this:
“I fully expect the current interim chief has the inside track, maybe more than the inside track. … I just think we need to be honest with ourselves.”
When asked about the community’s belief that Interim Chief Barker already has the job, Mayor Keller responded to KOAT TV by dismissfully saying “It’s not true.”
PROCESSED UTILIZED
On December 31, APD Chief Harold Medina retired after three decades in law enforcement and on the same day, Mayor Keller announced his appointment of APD Deputy Chief Cecily Barker as Interim APD Chief. Cecily Barker has been with APD over 20 years and has come up through the ranks.
On January 8, Mayor Tim Keller announced that he had begun a national search process of selecting a new APD Chief. Community input sessions were scheduled so residents, advocates, organizations and businesses could “identify the leadership qualities, experience and priorities desired in the next chief of police.”
Residents were able to take a community survey to “ensure broad and meaningful input.” Mayor Tim Keller said he was looking for someone who can meet today’s challenges, including fentanyl and long-standing cracks in the criminal justice system.
The Keller Administration hired the outside firm Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc., to assist in the search and selection process for a new APD Chief. According to the city of Albuquerque’s public records website, the firm’s contract began January 2 and has a maximum limit of $100,000. The firm specializes in police executive searches and has aided dozens of large law enforcement agencies, including those in Chicago and Dallas. The city has used the firm in the past, including for the search and selection of a Deputy APD Chief.
The City of Albuquerque said more than1,000 people provided their input on what they want to see in the city’s next police chief. The city had an online survey to gather community feedback in the search for a new police chief. In addition to the survey, the city said it held focus groups and public forums to get feedback.
Based on the feedback, city residents said they were looking at the following characteristics and priorities in a new APD Chief:
- Visible, Ethical, and Accountable Leadership
The city said community members consistently emphasized the need for a Police Chief who is highly visible, engaged, and accessible. They are looking for someone who leads from the front, is present in neighborhoods, and communicates openly with the public. Integrity, transparency, and accountability were cited as essential traits, along with a commitment to restoring and maintaining public trust.
- Strong Community-Centered Policing and Trust-Building
The city said residents called for a Chief who prioritizes service-oriented policing rooted in partnership, mutual respect, and collaboration. This includes proactive engagement with neighborhoods, advocacy groups, and community leaders, as well as a balanced, humane approach to enforcement. This was particularly in regards to interacting with youth, vulnerable populations, and individuals experiencing homelessness.
- Improved Responsiveness, Safety, and Operational Effectiveness
The city said residents want improved police responses to calls for service, more visible patrols in high-need areas, and effective deployment of resources. Key concerns included Downtown and transit-area safety, follow-up on serious complaints, fair and consistent treatment across communities, and the use of data-driven strategies.
INTERIM CHIEF CECILY BARKER’S ANNOUNCED DEPUTY CHIEF APPOINTMENTS AND REORGANIZATION
On January 9, APD Interim Chief Cecily Barker announced a reorganization of the APD. The reorganization includes new executive appointments and the elimination of 12 command staff positions, many of which were vacant positions. The 12 command staff positions that are being eliminated are a combination of sworn personnel, such as Deputy Commanders for both Internal Affairs division, and professional employees, such as the Director of Analytics.
Interim Chief Barker announced the following changes as part of her new executive team:
- Major Luke Languit was named Interim Deputy Chief of Field
- Medina’s former Chief of Staff Mike Hernandez was named Interim Deputy Chief of Support Services.
- Commander Aaron Jones was named Interim Chief of Staff.
- Deputy Chief George Vega will continue as Deputy Chief of the Investigations Bureau.
- Deputy Chief Josh Brown will continue as Deputy Chief of the Special Operations Bureau.
Chief Barker said this in part about her announced appointments and the reorganization:
“We have an experienced team in place to lead the department forward , while we transition into a new era of public safety in Albuquerque. We are experiencing new challenges in law enforcement , especially in response to the national political climate. We want our community to be assured that APD is prepared.”
The link to a quoted or relied upon news source is here:
The link to review the most current APD organization chart that was updated on January 9, 2026 consisting of 9 pages is here:
https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/apd-division-org-chart-1-7-26-draft-pdf.pdf
The link to review the one page “Department Summary: Sworn Personnel” which was replaced and updated as recently as January 23, 2026 is here:
https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/apd-staffing-numbers-2026.pdf
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Mayor Tim Keller was re-elected in November 2025 to serve a historic third straight 4 year term as Mayor. Keller has the very unique opportunity to completely reshape and reorganize the Albquerquerqu Police Department (APD) for a third time with a new generation of leaders and a new generation of police officers to address the city’s crime efforts.
For the last 16 years, APD recruitment has been stagnant, and the department has not been able to keep up with retirements. As it stands, there are only 351sworn police officers, out of a total of 913 sworn police officers, assigned to the six area commands broken down into 3 shifts and patrolling the streets and responding to hundreds of thousands of calls for service a year. APD cannot deal with the city’s crime rates and the volume of calls for service because of the low number of sworn personnel patrolling the streets. APD is still reeling from 10 years of a DOJ consent decree followed by a DWI bribery dismissal scandal where 20 cops from 3 agencies have been implicated and 9 APD Officers have plead guilty and are still awaiting sentencing.
It is extremely disappointing that Interim Chief Cecily Barker reappointed virtually all of former APD Chief Harold Medina’s Deputy Chief’s and retained the same command staff with the reorganization having very little substance in scope over a department of 950 sworn police. Simply put, APD is top heavy with mid management. Examination and analysis of the APD Organization Chart and the Summary of APD’s personnel reflects a law enforcement agency that is clearly top heavy and bloated with management in need of a major reorganization, deletion of positions, reassignment of personnel and the recruitment of a new generation of police officers.
APD needs far more than one new Chief. It needs a whole new top command staff of Chief and Deputy Chiefs that need to be recruited. It needs a complete reorganization and realignment of staffing to get more sworn police onto the street to patrol.
Speculation runs rampant amongst City Hall and APD observers that despite Mayor Keller’s public announcement that he has done a national search for a new Chief, he has already made up his mind and will appoint and make Interim Chief Barker permanent. The major reason people feel Keller will make Barker permanent is that he is following the identical pattern he has followed with his appointments in the past: appoint an interim chief, announce a national search, going through the motions of accepting applications, having extensive public input, and doing interviews only to appoint his interim permanent saying the most qualified person for the job “was right in front of our eyes all along who has been interim chief”.
After 8 years being Mayor and after appointing two prior APD Chief’s, Keller no doubt knows what he is looking for in an APD Chief. One nagging rumor is Keller is “champing at the bit” to appoint the first female chief of police thereby making Barker his favored choice.
It’s clear that based upon her background, resume and over 20 years with APD, Interim Chief Cecily Barker is qualified to be APD Chief. The blunt reality is Barker was former Chief Medina’s biggest supporter and “Medina Enabler” defending his management and personnel decisions. Barker represents nothing more than a continuation of Medina’s disastrous policies and his heavy handed personnel and management style.
Mayor Keller needs to decide sooner rather than later who to appoint Chief. If in fact Interim Chief Barker is who he really wants, he should avoid wasting the other applicants and the publics time and avoid the continuing political drama of guessing who he is going to appoint. Mayor Keller needs to just go ahead and appoint Interim Chief Cecily Barker immediately.
Links to quoted or relied upon news sources are here:
https://www.koat.com/article/apd-selects-three-finalists-in-police-chief-search/70740144
https://www.koat.com/article/mayor-keller-answers-questions-about-the-police-chief-search/70728233
https://abqraw.com/post/king-keller-narrows-search-for-apd-police-chief-down-to-three/
City of Albuquerque sees more than 1,000 people weigh in on police chief search – KOB.com
https://www.koat.com/article/submitted-applications-albuquerque-police-chief-job/70282016
The link to a related blog article is here: