[13] After the settlement was approved, the lawyers for the Chicano Police Officers' Association requested more money from the city for attorney's fees, and over the dissent of Chief Judge Seth, the U.S. Tenth Circuit Court ordered them to be paid.

The year-long series of undercover investigations and stings, funded by the Law Enforcement Assistance Administration, targeted the fencing operations then prolific in the Albuquerque area, resulting in 79 arrests.

[17] This was exacerbated by reports that the police union had been routinely providing cash payments to officers involved in shootings to help them recover emotionally from the event.

[18][19][20] In an incident that attracted nationwide attention,[21] on April 12, 2011, two APD police officers in civilian clothing hopped a fence into the backyard of Christopher Torres, who had schizophrenia, in an attempt to serve a warrant.

[25][26][24] As part of its investigation, the DOJ consulted with police practices experts and conducted a comprehensive assessment of officers' use of force and APD policies and operations.

[25] Amid the investigation, Albuquerque's KOAT-TV conducted a survey finding that 42% of city residents trusted police, 22% distrusted them, and the remainder "fell somewhere in the middle".

City council member Rey Garduño characterized these results as "not good"; Mayor Richard J. Berry said he continued to "stand behind" the police department.

[32] On March 16, 2014, several Albuquerque police officers were involved in the shooting death of James Boyd, a mentally ill homeless man who was illegally camping on the Sandia Mountains foothills.

[33] Following a five-hour standoff, Boyd, who was carrying two camping knives in his hands, was shot three times, in the back and both arms, from at least ten feet away with a semi-automatic rifle.

Footage captured on body mounted cameras shows one officer unleashing his K-9 German shepherd against Boyd as he lay on the ground wheezing.

Within a month of the Boyd shooting, the DOJ released its report, concluded that the Albuquerque Police Department had a "culture of acceptance of the use of excessive force", frequently not justified by the circumstances, which undervalued civilian safety, discounted the importance of crisis intervention, and caused significant harm or injury to people who posed no threat;[37] the report also found that APD engaged "in a pattern or practice of violating residents' Fourth Amendment rights" and of using deadly force "in an unconstitutional manner".

[38] Following the report, the city and the DOJ negotiated a court-enforceable consent decree which set forth 106 pages of provisions, including the dismantling of the Repeat Offender Project and the reining in of the SWAT team, which had operated outside the command structure for years.

[44] An April 2016 investigation by Al Jazeera, which included interviews with former officers, local lawyers, and journalists, found that reforms initiated under the consent decree had only "scratch[ed] the surface" of APD's "corrupt and violent culture", which had allegedly "continued unabated".

[46] The following month, the independent monitor enlisted to oversee implementation of the consent decree, Dr. James Ginger, raised doubts about APD's commitment to reform, questioning whether the department was taking into account prior reports and recommendations.

Amid resistance to the ongoing consent decree, in April 2021, the Albuquerque Police Officers' Association, the local police union, launched a billboard campaign against "endless DOJ oversight"; Dr. Ginger challenged the union's claim that rising crime was related to the decree and claimed the court-approved settlement could be completed in two to three years if the city continued implementing reforms.

[51] The EFIT report also found a "noticeable improvement" in APD's Internal Affairs Force Division (IAFD), which undertakes investigations of officer involved shootings.

Described as a "huge success" by the Seattle Times, the ACS had a budget of approximately $6 million in 2022 and responded to 16,000 calls, nearly half of which never required policy intervention.

[57] The city's planned budget for 2023, which will be a record-breaking $1.4 billion, allocates approximately $225 million (one-third of the total) to APD in order to fill vacancies and stem resignations.

A newspaper report on the Cops ban noted a post made to a television enthusiast website commented "How much crime can there be in Albuquerque, New Mexico?