New lawsuit against APD following DWI deception

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Carlos Sandoval Smith is looking for justice for what he says he went through with Albuquerque Police Department’s DWI Unit.

This centers around the ongoing investigation into several officers accused of working with a local attorney to get DWI cases dismissed for money.

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico along with a number of other attorneys have filed a lawsuit on Sandoval-Smith’s behalf. 

It claims Sandoval-Smith was falsely arrested and pressured to pay thousands of dollars to have the charges dropped.

“It truly ruined my life,” said Sandoval-Smith. 

Sandoval-Smith is talking about what happened on June 25, 2023.

APD officer Joshua Montano pulled him over on the I-25 Frontage Road just north of Central.

A class action lawsuit filed in district court outlines what followed and how Sandoval-Smith claims he became one of the many alleged victims of APD’s DWI unit extortion scheme.

Instead of Montano writing up a ticket, the lawsuit state he unlawfully expanded the scope of the stop by initiating a DWI investigation without suspicion Sandoval-Smith was under the influence.

“Throughout the entire interaction with officer Montano, Mr. Smith was cooperative. He answered his questions, he was honest, and participated in brief field sobriety tests that he passed and was ultimately booked into MDC and taken to jail,” said Taylor Smith, a cooperating attorney of ACLU New Mexico. 

KOB 4 spoke with Smith back in February about this case. He’s representing Sandoval-Smith.

It was after Sandoval-Smith was taken downtown, he became aware something wasn’t right. The lawsuit explains Montano removed his lapel camera and moved Sandoval-Smith out of where he could be seen or heard.

It states that’s when Montano told him he had an attorney friend who could make the DWI charge go away.

“At first I was completely confused, I didn’t understand why he was doing this because I knew it was wrong. So I started to put the clues together and realize something is not right.”

Sandoval-Smith went to the office of attorney Thomas Clear III and recorded the conversation with paralegal Ricardo Mendez, who is also named in the lawsuit.

After that meeting, Sandoval-Smith told a public defender what had happened who then talked to the FBI.

Sandoval-Smith’s charges were dropped in January. Meanwhile, Bernalillo County district attorney dismissed hundreds of other cases because of this federal investigation.

The lawsuit also claims APD Chief Medina and city officials knew about the alleged scheme, and did not investigate. 

In June 2022, FBI agents reportedly told APD about a different case involving Montano and Clear III with similar extortion allegations. 

Six months later, another APD unit also allegedly received a tip about DWI officers.

Albuquerque police released a statement, saying all those claims are false. 

A spokesperson says Medina worked closely with the FBI to uncover the DWI scheme, and opened an internal investigation to hold all involved accountable and leave no stone left unturned.

APD continues to work with the FBI and will release more details when they’re allowed.