As we covered last week, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina T-boned a 1966 Ford Mustang, seriously injuring the other driver. In footage of the incident, Chief Median clearly ran a red light, shooting between two other vehicles before slamming into the classic pony car. Now newly released bodycam footage shows the chief of police laughing and joking around with officers at the scene.
Read our original coverage of this story and see the crash footage.
Not only was Chief Medina making light of an awful situation, the bodycam footage shared by local news station KRQE also portrays him freely walking around the crime scene, telling his subordinates how to interpret evidence, and in general controlling everything despite his direct involvement.
ADVERTISEMENT
Chief Medina justified running the red light by explaining that two men were fighting on a sidewalk next to his unmarked Ford F-150. His wife was riding shotgun and he said he feared for her safety when one of the men allegedly produced a gun.
In the bodycam footage of the aftermath, Chief Medina points out a shell casing on the ground at the scene of the crime, telling his officers he only heard one shot. Some aren’t okay with this since it seems like he’s leading them to conclusions instead of just allowing for a thorough, unbiased investigation.
How many people who have been involved in a car crash, particularly one where someone in another vehicle has been seriously injured, is allowed to walk around the crime scene and coach officers on how to interpret everything in front of them?
When there’s already concerns over how Albuquerque Police Department is handling the crash investigation, this bodycam footage really isn’t helping to dispel those.
Image via KRQE/YouTube
Follow The Auto Wire on Google News.
Join our Newsletter, subscribe to our YouTube page, and follow us on Facebook.