‘No stone unturned:' Albuquerque police chief vows thorough investigation of corruption allegations

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The police chief in New Mexico’s largest city vowed Friday that the Albuquerque Police Department will “leave no stone unturned” as it moves ahead with an internal investigation into allegations of possible corruption within the Driving While Intoxicated unit. “But we will continue to dig and look and leave no stone unturned and make sure that we get to the bottom of this.” As part of the federal investigation, search warrants were recently served at the homes of officers who had worked with the DWI unit and a prominent local defense attorney who had served for years as chairman of the state Public Defender Commission. According to documents obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, the probe began following a stop by one of the officers last August in which he allegedly told the driver that he should contact a certain attorney, who, if hired, would ensure that no case would be filed in court by the police department. Medina said his staff first heard vague allegations about possible corruption within the DWI unit more than two years ago and learned last year that federal authorities were looking into the claims.