Politics

Ultimately, officials in both the Internal Affairs Force Division and the Albuquerque Police Department as a whole determined the officers followed policy that force must be reasonable, necessary and minimal when they shot Crosby.

But there were disagreements along the way.

Those who thought the shooting violated policy include the detective who conducted an internal affairs investigation and his supervisor as well as two outside agencies that, in different ways, review use of force by officers.

While a years-long settlement agreement reforming the police department is in its final stretch, Crosby’s killing — along with that of others who were suffering from mental health crises — has led some advocates to question whether the process is working. In 2014, a Department of Justice investigation determined APD officers had a pattern and practice of excessive force against citizens and the city has been embroiled in court-mandated reforms ever since.

Mark Fine, an attorney representing Crosby’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city, said he sees the incident as a case study about whether the department has changed.

“To see that some people, supposedly, trying to support police accountability would look at this and give it the thumbs-up — it is outrageous to me,” Fine said. “The next layer for me is, ‘OK, well, what does that say about a process that is aimed at accountability?'”