Dec. 29—The Albuquerque Police Department is once again in control of investigating the most serious use-of-force cases involving its officers — more than two years after oversight was handed to an external team as APD was struggling to police itself.

The federal Department of Justice and the monitoring team overseeing APD's reform effort agreed this month to transition Level 2 and 3 use-of-force investigations from the External Force Investigation Team (EFIT) back to the Internal Affairs Force Division (IAFD).

A Level 2 use of force is one that causes, or could cause, injury, while a Level 3 incident is one that leads to, or could lead to, serious injury, death or hospitalization.

It was in July 2021 that EFIT — a team of investigators with law enforcement experience — began training IAFD how to properly investigate use-of-force cases, after Independent Monitor James Ginger blasted APD, saying it had "failed miserably in its ability to police itself." By that time, a backlog of hundreds of cases had built up. Another function of EFIT was to clear those cases.

Ginger has mostly changed his tune since then, as APD made substantial progress in its Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) with the DOJ, reaching 94% operational compliance — the final measure — in the latest report.

A crucial part of those compliance gains, according to the monitoring team, came from higher-quality use-of-force investigations by IAFD under EFIT's guidance.

APD officials said IAFD resuming control of use-of-force investigations marked "another key milestone" in the department's reform effort.

"This is a major accomplishment and one of the most meaningful changes we've made as a department," APD Chief Harold Medina said in a statement. "It is critical that we are able to conduct our own, thorough and professional use-of-force investigations."

The city of Albuquerque entered into the CASA in 2014 after the DOJ determined APD officers displayed a pattern of excessive force.

While Ginger praised the progress made by IAFD investigators and supervisors in his latest report, he also raised concerns about APD's top brass not heeding IAFD's findings, deeming a fatal police shooting as being in line with APD policy when it wasn't.

Prior to the switch, EFIT, DOJ and the city of Albuquerque developed a six-part transition plan for IAFD "to complete investigations in a timely, thorough, and fair manner" without EFIT's assistance, according to a notice filed in U.S. District Court.