Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina testified under oath in a lawsuit that he routinely deletes text messages about official business, a practice legal experts said violates a state law that requires government agencies to keep communications for at least one year.
In an October whistleblower case, Medina said he and other high-ranking APD officials have deleted texts “in a rather continuous operation” since 2018 — despite state requirements to preserve such records. The admission comes as the city has paid more than $1.4 million to settle public records violations, and city officials admit the city has no policy for retaining text messages. Legal experts said the practice undercuts transparency laws meant to keep the public informed and hold the government accountable.
“Advised time and time again” to delete…