Five Albuquerque police officers, and one DWI attorney have been linked to a federal investigation. No one is saying what it is about officially.But, court records show there are clues that might indicate what’s going on and some say they are appalled by what Target 7 discovered when it searched through hundreds of dismissed DWI cases.Deep dive: Target 7 InvestigatesThe Bernalillo County district attorney has dismissed more than 150 cases in which those five officers made a DWI arrest. Target 7 looked at those officers histories and found a connection that some believe is the reason the FBI is investigating."Having to dismiss approximately 150 DWI cases made me sick to my stomach, but I had no choice," District Attorney Sam Bregman said. "My ethics as a prosecutor required me to dismiss those cases."Bregman says all of the cases are connected to an FBI investigation."This is an investigation taken on by the by the feds," Bregman said, "And that investigation needs to be done and completed to their satisfaction."Three homes belonging to Albuquerque police officers were searched along with a house belonging to a prominent DWI attorney.So, what's the connection to the attorney’s home that was searched by the FBI and the officers? It turns out those officers were in front of the attorney in court 70 times.What happened to those cases? The majority of them were dismissed. The reason — 29 times the officers failed to appear in court or provide needed evidence.Some of the excuses include a flat tire, a traffic crash and work-related injuries."When you see the like I said, the connection and the high numbers. There better be a lot of flags and bells going off,” Linda Atkinson, executive director of the DWI Resource Center, said.Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTubeAtkinson has been monitoring drunk driving cases for decades. Officers not appearing in court is nothing new. According to a 2015 study, 50% of DWI cases get dismissed for various reasons.Target 7 analyzed the more than 250 of the attorneys cases over the past four years. Nearly 70% of his cases were dismissed.Atkinson says a group of officers not appearing 29 times for one attorney is suspicious."I have my doubts it was happenstance,” Atkinson said. “It seems like it was intentional."Target 7 looked at the police department's standard operating procedures. There are seven pages covering how officers should appear in court. The two primary reasons are excused illness or they are responding to a call.We found one officer didn't show up three times to hearings in one case."You can't necessarily just call in sick to court services and say, ‘i'm not showing up at this hearing at district court in metro court,” Tom Grover, an attorney and former Albuquerque police officer, said.Grover says he got in trouble for missing court years ago. Now the department has automated systems that track whether officers show up."There would have been yellow flags appearing before management before something like this happened," Grover said. "There have been flags within the department's monitoring of its personnel, showing that they weren't appearing at court or there were a plethora of, you know, quote unquote, excused absences that were leading to cases being dismissed."Grover said if an officer fails to appear in court too many times it could have serious consequences."First time you fail to appear at court it could be a verbal reprimand. The second time it happens in a six-month period, it could be a written reprimand," Grover said. "The third time it could be a day off, the fourth time in 12 months it could be substantial number of days off the fifth time. There's obviously a real problem."Action 7 News On The Go: Download our app for free
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. —
Five Albuquerque police officers, and one DWI attorney have been linked to a federal investigation. No one is saying what it is about officially.
But, court records show there are clues that might indicate what’s going on and some say they are appalled by what Target 7 discovered when it searched through hundreds of dismissed DWI cases.
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Deep dive: Target 7 Investigates
The Bernalillo County district attorney has dismissed more than 150 cases in which those five officers made a DWI arrest. Target 7 looked at those officers histories and found a connection that some believe is the reason the FBI is investigating.
"Having to dismiss approximately 150 DWI cases made me sick to my stomach, but I had no choice," District Attorney Sam Bregman said. "My ethics as a prosecutor required me to dismiss those cases."
Bregman says all of the cases are connected to an FBI investigation.
"This is an investigation taken on by the by the feds," Bregman said, "And that investigation needs to be done and completed to their satisfaction."
Three homes belonging to Albuquerque police officers were searched along with a house belonging to a prominent DWI attorney.
So, what's the connection to the attorney’s home that was searched by the FBI and the officers? It turns out those officers were in front of the attorney in court 70 times.
What happened to those cases? The majority of them were dismissed. The reason — 29 times the officers failed to appear in court or provide needed evidence.
Some of the excuses include a flat tire, a traffic crash and work-related injuries.
"When you see the like I said, the connection and the high numbers. There better be a lot of flags and bells going off,” Linda Atkinson, executive director of the DWI Resource Center, said.
Follow us on social: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube
Atkinson has been monitoring drunk driving cases for decades. Officers not appearing in court is nothing new. According to a 2015 study, 50% of DWI cases get dismissed for various reasons.
Target 7 analyzed the more than 250 of the attorneys cases over the past four years. Nearly 70% of his cases were dismissed.
Atkinson says a group of officers not appearing 29 times for one attorney is suspicious.
"I have my doubts it was happenstance,” Atkinson said. “It seems like it was intentional."
Target 7 looked at the police department's standard operating procedures. There are seven pages covering how officers should appear in court. The two primary reasons are excused illness or they are responding to a call.
We found one officer didn't show up three times to hearings in one case.
"You can't necessarily just call in sick to court services and say, ‘i'm not showing up at this hearing at district court in metro court,” Tom Grover, an attorney and former Albuquerque police officer, said.
Grover says he got in trouble for missing court years ago. Now the department has automated systems that track whether officers show up.
"There would have been yellow flags appearing before management before something like this happened," Grover said. "There have been flags within the department's monitoring of its personnel, showing that they weren't appearing at court or there were a plethora of, you know, quote unquote, excused absences that were leading to cases being dismissed."
Grover said if an officer fails to appear in court too many times it could have serious consequences.
"First time you fail to appear at court it could be a verbal reprimand. The second time it happens in a six-month period, it could be a written reprimand," Grover said. "The third time it could be a day off, the fourth time in 12 months it could be substantial number of days off the fifth time. There's obviously a real problem."
Action 7 News On The Go: Download our app for free
