Albuquerque Pays $950,000 in Settlement After Police Chief’s Crash Injures Motorist
Albuquerque recently paid $950,000 to settle a lawsuit with a motorist who was critically injured when Harold Medina, then the city’s police chief, ran a red light in February 2024 and T-boned his vehicle, according to Reason Magazine.
As Inkl reported, Todd Perchert was a 55-year-old heading to a Saturday morning gathering of classic car owners in his 1966 Mustang when Medina abruptly disrupted his day. Medina steered his police vehicle through a red light at the junction of Central Avenue and Alvarado Drive without turning on any emergency lights or his siren.
Crashing through the eastbound lanes on Central Avenue, Medina smashed into Perchert’s vehicle, completely destroying the Mustang and causing the motorist to suffer multiple lacerations, face gashes, a fractured shoulder blade, a broken collarbone, a collapsed lung, and eight broken ribs. In defense of his actions, Medina said that he was rushing to get away from a shooting that had developed out of a dispute between two homeless individuals.
“This is above and beyond what you expect from a chief,” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller told reporters, improbably portraying Medina's conduct as heroic.
Two months after the crash, the Albuquerque Police Department’s Fleet Crash Review Board unanimously deemed the collision non-preventable. James Ortiz, a lieutenant with the department’s Internal Affairs Division, strongly disagreed with that assessment in a July 2024 report.
“The facts and circumstances do not relieve department personnel of driving safely to ensure no additional harm is done to personnel or to citizens,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz identified a third policy violation regarding Medina’s failure to activate his body camera following the crash. State law requires on-duty officers to wear body cameras and activate them during investigative encounters with the public.
Medina offered two puzzling excuses for leaving his camera off, citing intermittent conversations with his wife under spousal privilege and invoking his Fifth Amendment right not to self-incriminate. Medina received two official reprimands for the camera violation and the reckless driving.
“Todd did nothing wrong that morning,” said James Tawney, lawyer for Perchert, telling Reason Magazine that his client was an innocent motorist with the right of way who suffered devastating injuries because of someone entrusted with protecting the public. Tawney added that Perchert’s injuries continue to affect his mobility and everyday activity.
As reported by ABQ Raw, Medina received a brand-new Ford Expedition valued at roughly $90,000—complete with upwards of $20,000 worth of luxury and comfort add-ons—to take the place of the automobile he had destroyed. Medina retired last December after serving 28 years with the department.
“No amount of money can take away what happened to Mr. Perchert or undo the physical and emotional toll this crash has taken on him and his family,” Tawney said to Reason Magazine, noting they were pleased with the resolution.
“Fortunately, nobody lost their life as a result of the accident or the shooting that led to the crash,” said Gilbert Gallegos, director of communications for the Albuquerque Police Department.