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Chief Harold Medina
About The Chief
Harold Medina received a Bachelor’s degree with a double major in Biology and Criminology through the college of Arts and Science from the University of New Mexico in 1994. He became a first-generation college student and graduated within four years. He continued his education, attending the Police School of Staff and Command with Northwestern University. Medina is currently serving the Albuquerque Police Department as Interim Chief.
He believes in principles that are focused on community and law enforcement partnerships, problem solving, and transforming the department to help create a strong bond of trust with the community. Medina believes in strong customer service in order to create a program based on community policing. He introduced and developed several first-time programs that emphasized on outreach to local youth. He strongly believes in working with the community to educate and have an understanding of community-oriented policing. In the winter of 2014, after serving 20 years of being a sworn officer, Medina retired from the Albuquerque Police Department as a Commander. He started his police career in November of 1995, when he graduated from the Albuquerque Police Academy. During his career, he was a patrol officer for 9 years. Medina was promoted to Sergeant in 2004 where he became involved with the Albuquerque Police Department Party Patrol. During his time with Party Patrol he focused on decreasing illegal sales to underage youth. This proactive approach brought compliance rates in the Albuquerque area up to 95%. He also focused on providing prevention and intervention education strategies to the local Albuquerque high school students. This included partnerships with the schools, teachers and laws enforcement with a focused presentation of alcohol awareness to students.
In 2007, Medina was promoted to the Lieutenant rank and remained there for 2 years. He worked closely with community partners such as Mothers Against Drunk Drivers, and was recognized by them in 2008 for the leadership of Party Patrol; his program won the Hero’s award for that year. In the fall of 2009, he transferred to the Property Crimes Division. During the next 19 months through the use of community poling principles he created partnerships with community stakeholders, and increased internal communication and cooperation. During these 19 months, property crimes saw double-digit reductions in many areas.
In 2011, Medina was promoted to the rank of Commander. His philosophy was to help improve public trust and community partnerships. These initiatives led to the continued success in the reduction of property crimes in the Southwest Area Command. He was honored as the Uniformed Officer of the month as a patrol officer three times. He received the Uniformed Officer of the Year for the Albuquerque Police Department in 2004. Mothers Against Drunk Driving honored him with an individual Hero’s Award for his work in preventing underage drinking in 2007.
In 2014, Medina retired from the Albuquerque Police Department and shortly thereafter became the Chief of Police for the Pueblo of Laguna.
In December of 2017, Medina was appointed to Deputy Chief for the Albuquerque Police Department and currently oversees the Field Services Bureau. He strongly follows the principles of community oriented policing and has begun implementing Community Engagement, Partnerships with Business Coalitions, Youth and Elderly Outreach within the Albuquerque Police Department.
In September of 2020, he was upgraded to Interim Chief of Police for the Albuquerque Police Department.

Professional Standards and Accountability

Investigative Bureau

Field Service Bureau

Special Operations Bureau

Management Services and Support Bureau
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Meet the
Recruiting Unit

Alex Rahimi
Recruiter/Detective
Alex Rahimi joined the Recruiting unit in October of 2019. Alex has been with APD since 2013 and spent the majority of his career in the Field Service Bureau responding to calls for service from the community. During that time, he received certifications as a Field Training Officer, C.A.R.E. Officer (Child Abuse Response), and Enhanced Crisis Intervention! Alex is now a Detective and works in the Recruiting Unit. Contact Alex so he can share his experiences to help you make an informed decision. Alex would also love to hear your story!

Michelle English
Recruiter/Detective
Michelle English joined APD almost 16 years ago. She spent 6 years as a patrol officer before transferring to the Crimes Against Children Unit (CACU) where she worked diligently to protect victims of child abuse. After spending 5 years in CACU, Michelle transferred to the Child Exploitation Detail (CED) for three years. While in CED and CACU, she was a part-time collateral Background Investigator and member of the Honor Guard. In 2018, Michelle transferred to the Recruiting Unit. Michelle is driven to help you join the best department in the nation!

Tim Wolffbrandt
Recruiter/Detective
Tim Wolffbrandt is a full-time recruiter and does part time duty with the APD Bomb Unit. Detective Wolffbrandt responds to some of the most dangerous calls an officer can face but does so to protect the citizens of Albuquerque! Detective Wolffbrandt not only serves our City, he also serves the country as a member of the Air National Guard. Contact Detective Wolffbrandt to learn more!

James Demsich
Recruiter/Detective
James Demsich has been with APD since 2007. He has worked extensively in the Field Service Bureau. Detective Demsich was a Field Training Officer, Emergency Response Team Member, Collateral Diver, and a Bicycle Officer. Detective Demsich has a wealth of knowledge to share and wants to help you get your career started with APD. Give him a call to get more info!

Richard Garcia
Recruiter/Civilian
Richard Garcia retired from the Albuquerque Police Department in 2011. He now works part-time as a civilian recruiter. Prior to his retirement he worked in a variety of units including Narcotics, Vice Unit, Bike Unit, and the Field Service Bureau. He came to APD as a Lateral Officer from Los Lunas. He wants to continue to serve by bringing in qualified applicants like you!

Peter Silva
Recruiting Unit Sergeant
Sergeant Peter Silva joined the Police Department in 2005 and the Recruiting Unit in 2020. During his career he has been a Field Investigator, Field Training Officer, Emergency Response Team Member, and has had collateral duties as a C.A.R.E Officer and Enhanced Crisis Intervention Officer. Sergeant Silva was also a member of several community policing initiatives such as the Police and Communities Together Unit, and Proactive Response Team. He now oversees the Recruiting Unit and is working hard to bring the best candidates to serve as Police Officers for the City of Albuquerque!
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