ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The city of Albuquerque has paid out some big-time settlements with the Albuquerque Police Department. Monday, the city council will review civil cases that settled for more than $10,000 from the 4th quarter of Fiscal Year 2019. That report shows the city shelled out more than five million dollars in three lawsuit settlements related to the APD.
Tito Pacheco died in 2017 after David Barber crashed into him at Coors and Irving. Barber led police on a chase that started in the heights, through Nob Hill, ending on the westside. One woman called police and told them, “Um there’s an RV driving like crazy recklessly on Montgomery. They had stuff hanging off of it and running cars off the road.”
Barber hit Pacheco after APD used a pit maneuver to stop him. His family filed a lawsuit, saying the tactics police used that day were dangerous and violated Pacheco’s civil rights and the city agreed, they paid the family $500,000 to settle the lawsuit.
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The city also paid $3.75 million to the man left disabled after being shot by police. Then-20-year-old Rodrigo Garcia was fleeing in a stolen vehicle in May 2015 with officers in pursuit. As he ran through a fence, an officer went down. Officers opened fire on the vehicle. An estimated 82 shots were fired. Garcia was hit 7 times and his attorney says the officers didn’t get him help for 90 minutes, resulting in a severe brain injury.
The family of D’markus Blea sued the city after he was hit and killed by a group of teens in a stolen car in 2017. Blea’s father said, “It was a group of teenagers and that just made it hurt even more.”
Police say the suspects in a stolen Jeep, ran multiple red lights, trying to get away from officers during a chase when they struck the vehicle with Blea and his girlfriend inside. Blea died from his injuries and the city paid his family $1,050,000.
The litigation report from the 4th quarter of FY 2019 is being submitted late because it was unintentionally omitted in 2019. That recently came to the attention of the city’s legal department.
