Albuquerque police deputy is removed from duty in ongoing DWI scandal

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — A newly promoted police commander in Albuquerque has been removed from duty while the police department in New Mexico’s largest city continues to investigate allegations of possible corruption in its DWI unit.

The DWI scandal already has mired the Albuquerque Police Department in a federal investigation, as well as an internal inquiry. At least one commander has been fired, several others have resigned, and dozens of cases have been dismissed.

Police spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said Gustavo Gomez, deputy commander of the department’s internal affairs division, was placed on paid leave Wednesday, the Albuquerque Journal reported. Gomez was promoted to the position in January and has been with the police department since 2008.

Gomez was an officer in the DWI unit between 2010 and 2013.

The Albuquerque police union referred a request for comment on Gomez’s behalf to his attorney, John D’Amato, who did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment. A phone number listed for D’Amato’s law office did not appear to be in service.

The FBI investigation has partly focused on DWI criminal cases filed by certain officers that ended up being dismissed in court, according to the Journal. More than 150 cases alleging that motorists drove while intoxicated have been dismissed as part of the federal investigation.

Three Albuquerque police officers combined filed 136 of the 152 DWI cases, and at least 107 of those were filed last year, which was 10% of such cases for the department that year.

No charges have been filed, and it will be up to the U.S. Attorney’s Office to determine whether any federal laws were violated.