Category: Security News

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

The Justice Department and City of Albuquerque (City), New Mexico, filed a joint motion today seeking court approval to terminate certain portions of the consent decree covering the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The joint motion follows the independent monitor’s 20th report, also filed today, which concluded that the City and APD have reached full compliance with 99% of the consent decree’s terms, the highest level of compliance achieved by APD.

The monitor’s report indicates that APD’s compliance level reflects significant achievement in critical areas such as completing timely and high-quality use-of-force and misconduct investigations. These accomplishments take place against a backdrop of a 37% reduction in APD’s use of serious force in the last four years.

“Our joint motion to terminate additional provisions of this consent decree demonstrates that the Justice Department has come even closer to its ultimate goal of ensuring constitutional and effective policing in Albuquerque,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Real reform is not only possible, but evident in Albuquerque. Since this consent decree went into effect, the Albuquerque Police Department has made significant and sustained progress in implementing policing practices that respect civil rights and promote public safety. We have seen a 37% decline in use of serious force over the last four years, and continue to move reform efforts forward. The Justice Department will continue to work with the City and its police department toward our shared goal of constitutional and effective policing—the community deserves nothing less.”

“This partial termination proves that the hard work of the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department and the persistent advocacy from the community are achieving real results,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico. “Where the existence of a consent agreement is a symptom of dysfunction, every paragraph terminated is evidence of progress. Effective policy, operational observance of those rules, and persistent compliance with reform have set up APD for success. The sustainment period which follows termination will ensure that APD delivers the police department the people of Albuquerque deserve.”

The joint motion asks the court to terminate 31 consent decree provisions with which APD has fully complied for at least two years. The provisions cover a range of topics, including use of electronic control weapons (commonly known as Tasers); crisis intervention; crisis prevention; and supervision. It is the third joint motion the parties have filed in the last year seeking to terminate a total of 183 paragraphs of the consent decree, or 67% of the enforceable provisions of the agreement.

APD has made substantial change in reaching compliance with provisions of the consent decree the parties seek to terminate, including:

• APD has properly trained all officers on using Tasers to ensure that officers only use these weapons when lawful and necessary.
• APD has trained specialized officers to respond to behavioral health crises and deployed those officers across the department. Albuquerque has also created a new agency called Albuquerque Community Safety to send trained mental health professionals to 911 calls involving behavioral health issues. Through these two initiatives, Albuquerque is working to ensure that people get the help they need.
• APD has improved supervision across the police department, ensuring that officers receive the guidance, direction and support they need to be effective and comply with the law.

The District Court for the District of New Mexico entered the consent decree in June 2015. The decree, as well as information about the Civil Rights Division, are available on the Special Litigation Section Cases and Matters website. Additional information about implementation of the consent decree is also available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website. If you believe your civil rights have been violated, please submit a complaint through our online portal.

Source: United States Department of Justice 2

The Justice Department and City of Albuquerque (City), New Mexico, filed a joint motion today seeking court approval to terminate certain portions of the consent decree covering the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The joint motion follows the independent monitor’s 20th report, also filed today, which concluded that the City and APD have reached full compliance with 99% of the consent decree’s terms, the highest level of compliance achieved by APD.

The monitor’s report indicates that APD’s compliance level reflects significant achievement in critical areas such as completing timely and high-quality use-of-force and misconduct investigations. These accomplishments take place against a backdrop of a 37% reduction in APD’s use of serious force in the last four years.

“Our joint motion to terminate additional provisions of this consent decree demonstrates that the Justice Department has come even closer to its ultimate goal of ensuring constitutional and effective policing in Albuquerque,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Real reform is not only possible, but evident in Albuquerque. Since this consent decree went into effect, the Albuquerque Police Department has made significant and sustained progress in implementing policing practices that respect civil rights and promote public safety. We have seen a 37% decline in use of serious force over the last four years, and continue to move reform efforts forward. The Justice Department will continue to work with the City and its police department toward our shared goal of constitutional and effective policing—the community deserves nothing less.”

“This partial termination proves that the hard work of the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department and the persistent advocacy from the community are achieving real results,” said U.S. Attorney Alexander M.M. Uballez for the District of New Mexico. “Where the existence of a consent agreement is a symptom of dysfunction, every paragraph terminated is evidence of progress. Effective policy, operational observance of those rules, and persistent compliance with reform have set up APD for success. The sustainment period which follows termination will ensure that APD delivers the police department the people of Albuquerque deserve.”

The joint motion asks the court to terminate 31 consent decree provisions with which APD has fully complied for at least two years. The provisions cover a range of topics, including use of electronic control weapons (commonly known as Tasers); crisis intervention; crisis prevention; and supervision. It is the third joint motion the parties have filed in the last year seeking to terminate a total of 183 paragraphs of the consent decree, or 67% of the enforceable provisions of the agreement.

APD has made substantial change in reaching compliance with provisions of the consent decree the parties seek to terminate, including:

• APD has properly trained all officers on using Tasers to ensure that officers only use these weapons when lawful and necessary.
• APD has trained specialized officers to respond to behavioral health crises and deployed those officers across the department. Albuquerque has also created a new agency called Albuquerque Community Safety to send trained mental health professionals to 911 calls involving behavioral health issues. Through these two initiatives, Albuquerque is working to ensure that people get the help they need.
• APD has improved supervision across the police department, ensuring that officers receive the guidance, direction and support they need to be effective and comply with the law.

The District Court for the District of New Mexico entered the consent decree in June 2015. The decree, as well as information about the Civil Rights Division, are available on the Special Litigation Section Cases and Matters website. Additional information about implementation of the consent decree is also available on the U.S. Attorney’s Office website. If you believe your civil rights have been violated, please submit a complaint through our online portal.

Source: United States Department of Justice Criminal Division

A Kansas man was sentenced today to 80 months in prison for threatening multiple Black people in and around the Wichita area, and for interfering with the housing rights of a white woman because he believed that she was dating and associating with Black people.

Austin Schoemann, 31, of Wichita, previously pleaded guilty to two counts of interference with federally protected activities, two counts of interstate threats and one count of interference with housing. In connection with the plea, Schoemann admitted that, in July 2022, he brandished a firearm and used racial slurs in order to threaten two Black juveniles while they were entering a QuikTrip gasoline station, and that he also used his firearm to threaten a Black adult who intervened to support the juveniles. Schoemann also acknowledged that, from January 2022 through August 2022, he interfered with the federally protected housing rights of a white woman by making threats to hurt or kill any Black people who visited her home. Schoemann further admitted that he sent videos and messages to the woman’s family members and others in which he repeatedly threatened to shoot and kill Black people.

“Racially-motivated threats of violence cannot be tolerated in our society,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “For months, this defendant made threats to a woman and her family that he would shoot and kill any Black person who visited the woman’s home. After that campaign of terror, the defendant called two Black children racist slurs, and threatened the children and a Black woman with a gun when they happened to cross paths at a convenience store. This case should make clear that the Justice Department will not rest in bringing the perpetrators of racially-motivated hate crimes to justice.”

“Perpetrators of hate crimes inflict pain upon victims in furtherance of a larger goal of breeding fear and divisiveness within our communities,” said U.S. Attorney Kate E. Brubacher for the District of Kansas. “The Justice Department is standing against racial violence and threats of racial violence by prosecuting offenders, but we need the public’s help.  The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Kansas encourages those who are victims of or witnesses to hate crimes to report these incidents to law enforcement.”

The FBI Kansas City Field Office and Wichita Police investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith for the District of Kansas and Trial Attorneys Thomas Johnson and Erin Monju of the Civil Rights Division’s Criminal Section are prosecuting the case.