The highest ranking officer under internal investigation regarding the Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI unit — and the one-time head of the division that routinely conducts such investigations — was untruthful, did not cooperate with an investigation and shared confidential information, according to a misconduct report filed with the Department of Public Safety.
Cmdr. Mark Landavazo in the Internal Affairs Division was fired last week after he was found to have violated three policies, according to an APD spokesperson. He had been on administrative leave since Feb. 13 while under internal investigation related to allegations that DWI officers were working with a local attorney to make cases go away.
John D’Amato, an attorney for the police union, said Landavazo has not gotten the misconduct report — called an LEA-90 — but he intends to ask for a suspension of his law enforcement certification instead of revocation. The Law Enforcement Certification Board will make the determination.
APD’s internal investigation was launched after news broke that the FBI was investigating five officers — Harvey Johnson, Joshua Montaño, Honorio Alba, Nelson Ortiz and Justin Hunt.
No one has been charged in the federal investigation. But all five of those officers — plus Daren DeAguero and Neill Elsman — have resigned. Two other officers are still under internal investigation.
Explore the full timeline here.
Although Landavazo was part of the DWI unit from December 2008 to December 2013, the internal investigation into him seems to center more on his conduct in the Internal Affairs Division after he received an FBI referral regarding allegations against other officers in June 2022.
Landavazo was the first officer the FBI notified when the agency received a tip that Attorney Thomas Clear III and his paralegal Rick Mendez told a young man who had been arrested for driving while intoxicated that he could pay them $10,000 to guarantee the charges go away. The FBI referral included the information that Montaño had taken the man’s driver’s license and he got it back from Clear and Mendez.
Read the story of the man who tipped off the FBI here.
According to emails obtained by City Desk ABQ, Landavazo told the FBI he’d “be more than happy to assist” and he directed the special agent to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency. Gilbert Gallegos, an APD spokesperson, has not answered questions about whether Landavazo made any steps to investigate the referral but he did say Landavazo did not tell Chief Harold Medina about it.
Gallegos did not respond to questions Friday about what steps the department has taken since the allegations came to light to ensure that Internal Affairs staff are acting appropriately regarding investigations. He also did not answer questions about the specifics of Landavazo’s policy violations — including what he was untruthful about, what confidential information he shared and to whom and how he didn’t cooperate with an investigation.
“I can’t disclose any further details about the investigation,” Gallegos said. “Nor can I discuss the Internal Affairs Department until the FBI investigation is completed.”
The misconduct report was filed with the state’s Department of Public Safety on Aug. 1 — the same day Landavazo was fired. A department spokesperson said next the staff will review the report and contact APD to request additional information.
Have there been consequences for the attorney, Thomas Clear?
Please follow up after 1 year and report how many of these officers still have their Certification.