New Mexico
APD files joint motion with DOJ to end oversight
The Department of Justice has been looming over the Albuquerque Police Department since 2014, providing oversight in an effort to reform the department after the Feds found a pattern of excessive force. Now, the DOJ says APD is in compliance and filed to end its oversight.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Albuquerque Police Department is making new moves to be released from federal oversight. The Department of Justice and APD agreed in new court filings that compliance has been met.
While the motion still has to be approved by a federal judge, Albuquerque city leaders took a victory lap Saturday morning.
“This is a victory for the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department who have changed their culture,” said APD Chief Harold Medina. “They are the ones that have put the most blood, sweat and tears into this.”
It all began in 2014 after the DOJ found a pattern of excessive force within the police department. The DOJ then mandated reforms ranging from the use of guns and lapel cameras, to how deadly force cases are reported.
Taylor Rahn, the lead attorney representing APD in the settlement, says the department is now in 100% compliance.
“I just remind the public that this was not only approved by the Department of Justice and the city, it was approved by the other party in this matter, the union, as well as the court monitor,” Rahn said.
Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Medina called on future city leaders to continue pursuing reforms in the post-DOJ era. Keller believes enough changes have been made to outlast his administration, while Medina shared a message for future police leaders.
“I hope and I pray that the future leaders of this department continue to respect what was built and that we must always be looking to see how we could improve,” Medina said. “That sometimes in order to be able to improve, we must admit that we were wrong.”
More than ten years after the infamous James Boyd killing in the Albuquerque foothills and the ensuing protests, APD still has plenty of critics.
Daniel Williams with the ACLU of New Mexico points out a disconnect between APDs compliance with the DOJ, and the experience on city streets.
“We’ve seen the last couple of years APD really starting to check those boxes, and get into technical compliance with the CASA,” said Williams, referring to the settlement agreement. “Unfortunately New Mexico still leads the nation in terms of per capita people killed by police and APD does account for a big part of that.”
Mayor Tim Keller recognized the possibility of problems still appearing within the police department, but expressed optimism on how they would be dealt with in the future.
“Will there be bad actors in the police department? That will also happen. The difference is that we will hold them accountable, and we will efficiently get the bad actors out of the department,” said Keller.
New Mexico
Actor Timothy Busfield turns himself in following child sex abuse allegations in New Mexico
Timothy Busfield turned himself into police on Tuesday after authorities in New Mexico issued an arrest warrant for the director and Emmy Award-winning actor accused of child sex abuse.
A spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department confirmed to CBS News that Busfield had surrendered. He was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center in Bernalillo County on a child sex abuse charge. The arrest warrant, which was signed by a judge, said the charge was for two counts of criminal sexual contact of a minor.
An investigator with the Albuquerque Police Department on Friday filed a criminal complaint which alleged a child reported that Busfield touched him inappropriately. The acts allegedly occurred on the set of “The Cleaning Lady,” a TV series that Busfield directed and acted in.
In a video provided to TMZ, Busfield said the allegations “are all lies.”
“I did not do anything to those little boys,” the 68-year-old actor said in the video appearing to show him in Albuquerque. He said he arrived in the city after driving 2,000 miles. Busfield’s attorney did not immediately return a message seeking comment Tuesday.
The criminal complaint filed by an investigator with Albuquerque police says the boy reported that he was 7 years old when Busfield touched him three or four times on private areas over his clothing. Busfield allegedly touched him five or six times on another occasion when he was 8, the complaint said.
The child was reportedly afraid to tell anyone because Busfield was the director and he feared he would get mad at him, the complaint said.
The boy’s twin brother told authorities he was touched by Busfield but did not specify where. He said he didn’t say anything because he didn’t want to get in trouble.
When interviewed by authorities, Busfield suggested that the boys’ mother was seeking revenge for her children being replaced on the series. He also said he likely would have picked up and tickled the boys, saying the set was a playful environment.
The mother of the twins — who are identified only by their initials in court records — reported to Child Protective Services that the abuse occurred between November 2022 and spring 2024, the complaint said.
“The Cleaning Lady” aired for four seasons on Fox, ending in 2025. It was produced by Warner Bros., which according to the complaint conducted its own investigation into the abuse allegations but was unable to corroborate them.
Busfield is known for appearances in “The West Wing,” “Field of Dreams” and “Thirtysomething,” the latter of which won him an Emmy for outstanding supporting actor in a drama series in 1991. He is married to actor Melissa Gilbert, who deactivated her Instagram account amid the allegations.
Gilbert indicated through a publicist that she won’t speak publicly at the request of attorneys for Busfield while the legal process unfolds.
“Her focus is on supporting and caring for their very large family,” publicist Ame Van Iden said in a statement. “Melissa stands with and supports her husband and will address the public at an appropriate time.”
The investigation began in November 2024, when the investigator responded to a call from a doctor at the University of New Mexico Hospital in Albuquerque. The boys’ parents had gone there at the recommendation of a law firm, the complaint said.
According to the complaint, one of the boys has been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety. A social worker documented him saying he has had nightmares about Busfield touching him.
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