Albuquerque police deputy fired in ongoing DWI scandal

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

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

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 a DWI unit officer from 2010-2013.

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 firm did not appear to be in service.

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

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

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