ALBUQUERQUE – Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller says he went both inside the outside the Albuquerque Police Department for leadership to fight crime and reform the organization.
Keller on Monday announced his selection of interim Chief Harold Medina to be the new chief and Sylvester Stanley, currently chief of Isleta Pueblo, as superintendent of police reform, a new position.
Medina was named interim chief with the departure of the previous chief in late 2020.
Medina will focus on core crime-fighting activities, recruiting police officers and building morale. Stanley will oversee discipline of officers as well as the department’s academy and Internal Affairs division and work with the U.S. Department of Justice.
“It takes both an insider and an outsider to strike the right balance on the dual challenges of crime-fighting and police reform,” Keller said.
Medina is the first Hispanic to be Albuquerque’s police chief since 2001.
Both Medina and Stanley will report to the city’s chief administrative officer, Sarita Nair.