ATF Sting In Albuquerque Raises Questions Of Racial Profiling, Police Practices

May 19, 2017 – They said they brought in “the best of the best to get the worst of the worst.” A four-month undercover sting operation by the federal bureau of Alcohol Tobacco Firearms and Explosives (ATF) led to 103 arrests in Albuquerque — an “unprecedented” success for such a campaign, officials said at a news conference last August. But a close examination of the sting showed a much muddier picture. Agents arrested 28 black people — that’s 27 percent, in a city with a 3 percent black population, in a state where African Americans made up just 5 percent of federal court defendants in drug and gun cases between 2006 and 2015. Moreover, many of those arrested were not the violent, hardened criminals or the big-time traffickers federal officials said they were after. Federal public defender Brian Pori represents Yusef Casanova, a black man swept up in the sting last year. This week, correspondent Jeff Proctor sat down with Pori to talk about the tactics ATF used in the operation, their results, the complex legal questions surrounding the sting and whether it constitutes good policing.

Further reading:
New Mexico In Depth: Feds’ sting ensnared many ABQ blacks, not ‘worst of the worst’
New Mexico In Depth: ATF used traveling, well-paid informants in ABQ sting
USA Today: Investigation: ATF drug stings targeted minorities