New Mexico police shootings get criminal review
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — U.S. Department of Justice officials investigating allegations of excessive force by the Albuquerque Police Department told community members that some of the 37 police shootings in the past three years have been referred to criminal investigators.
Ralph Arellanes, state director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, is one of several community leaders who met with Justice Department officials Wednesday. He says officials confirmed some of the cases have been forwarded to the agency's criminal division.
But Arellanes says they declined to say which or how many cases were involved — or if the shooting of a camper in the foothills earlier this month as he turned away from officers was among those forwarded for more review.
The Justice Department's civil rights division has been investigating the police department for more than year.
