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Albuquerque Pays Nearly $1 Million to a Man Who Was Critically Injured When Its Police Chief Ran a Red Light
Albuquerque has agreed to pay Todd Perchert $950,000 to settle a lawsuit over a 2024 crash in which then police chief Harold Medina drove through a red light and hit Perchert’s car. Perchert was badly injured, and the settlement follows conflicting assessments within the police department over whether the collision could have been prevented.
Medina said he was rushing to leave a gunfire-related altercation and believed the intersection was clear, but surveillance footage showed another driver had to brake to avoid him. Perchert, then 55, suffered eight broken ribs, a collapsed lung and other injuries, requiring seven hours of surgery and weeks in hospital; his lawyer says the injuries still affect his daily life. The department’s crash review board called the collision non-preventable, while an internal affairs investigator said Medina’s driving was unsafe.
In short
- Albuquerque will pay $950,000 to settle Perchert’s lawsuit.
- The crash left him with serious injuries and ongoing mobility effects.
- Police reviews disagreed over whether the collision was preventable.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
The settlement can be seen as a reasonable way to compensate Perchert for severe injuries and resolve a claim involving a city vehicle, without the cost and uncertainty of a trial. The crash board’s finding that the collision was non-preventable, together with Medina’s account that he was responding to a gunfire-related incident and believed the junction was clear, supports caution about treating the payment itself as proof of misconduct.
The case against
The internal affairs investigator’s view that Medina drove unsafely, alongside footage showing another driver braking to avoid him, supports the argument that the collision could have been prevented and that accountability matters especially when senior officials are involved. Given Perchert’s serious injuries and lasting effects, critics may also question whether a settlement paid by the city adequately reflects the harm or ensures lessons are learned.