APD announces several new hires
Nov. 23—The Albuquerque Police Department has made several new hires among its top brass and is adding a second woman to the slate of five deputy chiefs.
Cecily Barker, who had been chief of staff, is now deputy chief of the Investigative Bureau. She replaces Arturo Gonzalez, who just retired, according to Rebecca Atkins, an APD spokeswoman.
The chief of staff position will now be called director for the Office of the Chief, Atkins said. The department hired David Franklin,of Dallas to fill that role and he began in early November.
"Franklin has more than 25 years' experience in law enforcement, serving as a state trooper, as well as time as a lieutenant and a captain with the Texas Department of Public Safety," Atkins wrote in a news release.
"In his role, Director Franklin will oversee special projects, Building and Planning, Fiscal, Human Resources and staffing, as well as working closely with City Council."
APD also hired a deputy commander for the police academy, a new position. Michael Gardiner's first day was Monday and he is tasked with assisting Cmdr. Renae McDermott with overseeing the academy.
Atkins said Gardiner was previously an instructor with the FBI's Law Enforcement Executive Development Association and an assistant special agent in charge for the United States Department of Agriculture's Forest Service Law Enforcement and Investigations in the Southwestern Region. He has more than 22 years of law enforcement experience and was working as a contractor conducting background checks for APD during the pandemic, Atkins said.
"Despite the hiring challenges in law enforcement around the country, APD is pleased to welcome these new, talented professionals to our department," said Police Chief Harold Medina.
In addition to the new hires at APD, the Office of Civil Rights brought on Hallie McCormick, who most recently was working on the sexual assault kit backlog at the state level.
McCormick started in early November as coordinator of domestic violence and gender-based violence prevention, and will be working with local agencies to implement recommendations from the Domestic Violence Taskforce in order to improve response and prevention. Part of those recommendations include expanding training for officers and Albuquerque Fire Rescue personnel to recognize domestic violence, and creating a uniform way to track domestic violence calls, monitor outcomes and allocate resources.
"Not only are (we) working to prevent domestic violence and gender-based violence, but also we want to better support victims of these crimes," said Mayor Tim Keller. "Having a designated coordinator to oversee these efforts will ensure action is being (taken) and the resources are provided to individuals who need them."
