The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of New Mexico is suing the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) alleging that an officer with the department’s DWI Unit did not have justification to arrest a man on a drunken driving charge. The officer in question was among those under investigation by the FBI regarding an alleged scheme involving the department’s DWI unit and a criminal defense attorney.
The lawsuit was filed Tuesday.
Griffin Arellano, an attorney representing Carlos Smith, said the lawsuit is an attempt to get justice for Smith but also to hold APD accountable for the DWI Unit’s alleged scandal.
“Mr. Smith experienced a total upheaval in his life because of what happened to him,” Arellano said. “The litigation is an opportunity for him to seek justice through civil remedies, but it also represents a moment of accountability, and inquiry into the city of Albuquerque and Albuquerque Police Department for the scandal that is kind of now still coming to light in terms of its scope, its depth and its duration.”
Smith’s lawsuit in part alleges that higher ups in the department knew about the alleged scheme, but APD in a statement denied that allegation.
“The lawsuit filed by the ACLU contains knowingly false information,” the statement read. “Chief Medina worked closely with the FBI to uncover the DWI scheme and opened an internal investigation to hold all involved accountable and leave no stone left unturned. APD leadership continues to cooperate and work with federal partners as they complete their investigation. APD will share more information with the public when details are permitted to be released.”
Members of APD’s DWI Unit were investigated earlier this year after allegations that they were working with a local attorney to get paid to get DWI cases dismissed.
Read more about the timeline of the investigation here.
The lawsuit states that in June 2023, Smith was pulled over by former officer Joshua Montaño — one of the officers who resigned — for speeding and alleges that Montaño “unlawfully expanded the scope of the stop by initiating a DUI investigation without reasonable suspicion.”
According to the suit, Smith submitted to a series of sobriety tests, including a breath test.
The lawsuit alleges that Montaño “did not have reasonable suspicion that Plaintiff was speeding” and “did not have probable cause to believe that Plaintiff was driving under the influence.”
Arellano said he could not speak to Smith’s exact score on the breathalyzer test, but he “blew under the legal limit.”
The suit further alleges that Montaño at one point removed his body camera and told Smith that “he had an attorney friend who could make the DUI charge go away.” After Smith was released from the Metropolitan Detention Center, Montaño called Smith to tell him the rest of his possessions were with the “attorney friend,” Thomas Clear III, according to the suit.
Smith, according to the suit, went to Clear’s office to retrieve his property and met with his paralegal Rick Mendez, who told Smith their office would guarantee the DUI charge would go away and “demanded a payment of $7,500 up front or installment payments towards $8,500 plus tax.”
In a blog on the ACLU of New Mexico’s website, Smith wrote that he did not take Mendez up on the offer because “I hadn’t been driving drunk, and I didn’t have the money.”
Smith’s case was dismissed in January after the federal investigation began.
“We cannot trust officer Montaño at his word,” Arellano said. “We do not trust that officer Montaño actually had a reason to pull over Mr. Smith, or had a reason to investigate Mr. Smith for DUI.”
The arrest led to Smith losing his housing and business and led to some personal challenges, according to Arellano. He said the goal of the litigation is to discover as much information about “what was really happening at APD,” and “the extent of this scandal, of this corruption.”
“What we hope comes from this lawsuit is an emphasis on reforming the Albuquerque Police Department’s practices and policies and accountability,” Arellano said. “We believe that this lawsuit will be a way for, really, people in the city of Albuquerque to rebuilding their trust in their institutions, especially their police department.”