How Politicians and Cops Tried To Dodge Responsibility in 2025
Presidents, legislators, and police officers were desperate to blame anyone but themselves.
New Mexico
Another New Mexico Cop Lauded for Nabbing Drunk Drivers Admits Taking Bribes To Let Them Off the Hook
A guilty plea by a retired Albuquerque officer who served in law enforcement for more than 30 years illustrates the extent of the biggest police scandal in the state's history.
Watch a New Mexico Sheriff's Deputy Jovially Hurl a Baby Rabbit to Its Death As His Supervisors Laugh
Deputy Alejandro Gomez, who is accused of repeatedly harassing a colleague, faces one charge of extreme animal cruelty and four charges of aggravated assault on a police officer.
Federal Courts Shrug at Potentially Lethal Wrong-Door Raids
Cops should not be free to forgo the modicum of care required to make sure they’re in the right place.
A Federal Judge Says New Mexico Cops Reasonably Killed an Innocent Man at the Wrong House
U.S. District Judge Matthew Garcia rejected the argument that the officers "recklessly created the need to apply deadly force by going to the wrong address."
Sheriff Says 'Public Trust' in New Mexico Law Enforcement 'Is Completely Lost' Because of Police Corruption
"This is a gut punch," says Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. "This is a kick to my balls and two black eyes, to be honest with you."
A State Cop Lionized for Nabbing Drunk Drivers Is Suspected of Taking Bribes To Let Them Off the Hook
New Mexico State Police Sgt. Toby LaFave, "the face of DWI enforcement," has been implicated in a corruption scandal that goes back decades and involves "many officers."
Pervasive Police Corruption in Albuquerque Explains Why a Teetotaler Was Arrested for DWI
A driver who was acquitted of drunk driving joins a class action lawsuit provoked by a bribery scheme that went undetected for decades.
Albuquerque's Ever-Expanding Police Corruption Scandal Goes Back Decades and Involves 'Many Officers'
In the latest guilty plea, a local defense attorney says he had been bribing cops to make DWI cases disappear "since at least the late 1990s."
Corrupt Albuquerque Cops Had Friends in High Places, Including Internal Affairs
For a decade and a half, officers made DWI cases go away in exchange for bribes, relying on protection from senior officers implicated in the same racket.
A Guilty Plea Implicates 'Almost the Entire' Albuquerque DWI Unit in Longstanding Police Corruption
Federal prosecutors say the city's police department was the main focus of a 15-year bribery scheme that also involved the sheriff's office and the state police.
A University President Accused of Squandering Public Money Resigns in Exchange for a $2 Million Payout
Western New Mexico University's Board of Regents approved the severance package for Joseph Shepard after a state audit highlighted $364,000 in "wasteful" and "improper" spending.
State Tax Hikes Set To Raise Energy Costs in 2025
Residents of California, Minnesota, and Wisconsin will get hit with the higher taxes.
Albuquerque's Police Chief Says Cops Have a 5th Amendment Right To Leave Their Body Cameras Off
Harold Medina made that argument during an internal investigation of a car crash he caused last February.
The Case Against Alec Baldwin Is Not a Slam Dunk
New Mexico law requires quite a high standard for proving criminal negligence.
A Year Before Albuquerque's Police Corruption Scandal Made Headlines, an Internal Probe Found Nothing
In 2022, police received a tip that officers were getting paid to make DWI cases disappear—the same allegation that prompted FBI raids in January.
Albuquerque's Police Chief Ran a Red Light and Broadsided a Car. A Review Board Says It Was Unavoidable.
Harold Medina, who severely injured a driver while fleeing a gunman, ordered a thorough investigation of his own conduct.
A 5th Albuquerque Cop Resigns Amid Widening DWI Corruption Scandal
"There is a much bigger story here," the officer's lawyer says. "It goes outward and upward."
New Mexico MADD 'Officer of the Year' Resigns Amid DWI Corruption Scandal
Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina, who promised to "get to the bottom of this," is himself the subject of an internal investigation after broadsiding a car last month.
Albuquerque Cops Allegedly Got Paid To Make DWI Cases Disappear
The scandal has resulted in the dismissal of some 200 DWI cases, an internal probe, and an FBI investigation.
Abortion 'Sanctuary Cities' Under Scrutiny in New Mexico Supreme Court
Abortion issues come before two other state Supreme Courts—in Arizona and Wyoming—this week as well.
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's Unconstitutional Gun Edict Was a Huge, Bipartisan Flop
The governor's attempt to rule by decree provoked widespread condemnation instead of the applause she was expecting.
New Mexico Anti-Gun Decree Follows a Dangerous Path of 'Emergency' Rule
No response to authoritarian government actions is quicker or more reliable than non-compliance.
A Blatantly Unconstitutional Gun Edict Highlights the Hazards of Emergency Powers
New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham thinks violent crime gives her a license to rule by decree.
New Mexico's Governor Suspends the Right To Bear Arms, Saying the Second Amendment Is Not 'Absolute'
Local police officials are leery of enforcing Michelle Lujan Grisham's ban on public carry, which gun rights groups have challenged in federal court.
New Mexico Cops Fatally Shoot Homeowner After Showing Up at the Wrong House
Plus: Los Angeles sues journalist who published police photos, IRS releases $80 billion budget plan, and more...
Prosecutor Drops Firearm Enhancement Against Alec Baldwin
After a tragic on-set accident, a district attorney used a law passed after the incident to threaten Baldwin with years in jail.
Alec Baldwin Shouldn't Spend 5 Years in Prison for an Accident
The actor is a polarizing figure. That shouldn't matter when evaluating the criminal case against him.
Libertarian Party Faces State Rebellions
The Libertarian Party's state affiliates in New Mexico and Virginia have broken away amid ideological and procedural turmoil—and the Virginia branch may have dissolved entirely.
Unnecessary SWAT Raid Ended in the Death of an Albuquerque Teen
This was an attempted arrest of a man wanted for questioning and parole violations, not a hostage situation.
Voters Don't Want To Pay for Your Dumb Stadium
In Albuquerque, Augusta, and Denver, plans to borrow and spend on stadiums got soundly defeated on Election Day.
When Forced To Choose, Some New Mexico Gas Station Liquor Stores Will Now Just Sell Liquor
A paternalistic new law is having unintended consequences.
Some States Are Finally Getting Serious About Addressing Police Misconduct
Reforms like the ones recently passed in Maryland and New Mexico offer a better long-term fix than the conviction of one police officer.
New Mexico Abolishes Qualified Immunity
It is the third state to rein in the legal doctrine that protects state actors from accountability for misconduct.
6 Marijuana Legalization Lessons
Three recently approved plans show what politicians have learned (or failed to learn) since Colorado became the first state to allow recreational use.
New Mexico Joins New York and 15 Other States in Legalizing Marijuana
Joe Biden, meanwhile, supports continued national prohibition, maintaining an untenable conflict between state and federal laws.
Marijuana News in 3 States Shows Stark Differences As Prohibition Crumbles
New Mexico could be the 16th state to legalize pot, while Texas considers tinkering with its onerous penalties and Pennsylvania continues to arrest cannabis consumers.
States Can Provide Their Own Civil Remedies for Police Abuse
They need not wait for the Supreme Court or Congress to restrict or abolish qualified immunity.
New Mexico Could Be the Third State To Authorize Lawsuits Against Abusive Cops Without Qualified Immunity
A bill approved by the state House would let people sue government officials for violating rights protected by the state constitution.
Americans Are Sick of Arbitrary COVID-19 Restrictions
A year into the pandemic, politicians still have not digested the dangers of careless public health measures.
Senseless Restrictions on Outdoor Activities Undermine the Goal of Curbing COVID-19
By arbitrarily foreclosing relatively safe social and recreational options, politicians encourage defiance, resentment, and riskier substitutes.
NIMBYs Stop Game of Thrones Author George R.R. Martin From Building the Castle of his Dreams
The Santa Fe Historic Districts Review Board refused to grant an exception to its height limits to accommodate a seven-sided keep.
Another Round of Coronavirus Lockdowns Might Be Coming. They'll Be Far Less Enforceable Than Before.
Plus: Albuquerque police will no longer respond to some 911 calls, the Federal Reserve creates a perverse incentive for corporations to borrow more heavily, and more...
New Mexico Medical Marijuana Supplier Wins First Amendment Challenge to the State Fair's Absurdly Broad Censorship
The overturned rules banned microscopes and shovels as drug paraphernalia and prohibited pictures of cannabis or the equipment used to grow it.
Are Gun-Toting Border Vigilantes So Different from the Border Patrol?
Outraged by that video of freelance border guards detaining migrant families? Wait til you find out what the official border cops have been up to...
