25-06-2025
8th officer pleads guilty for role in DWI Unit scandal
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – Another former Albuquerque Police Department officer has admitted to his role in the DWI corruption scandal. Former APD Officer Louis Henckel pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy in federal court on Monday.
Henckel admitted to conspiring with former defense attorney Thomas Clear's office in 2020 to intentionally fail to appear in court for one of Clear's clients. Court documents state the DWI defendant in that case was in a relationship with another conspiring APD officer.
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Henckel said he was paid the equivalent of the overtime he would have made in court to not show up, and the case was dismissed. He joined APD in 2008 and worked in the DWI Unit from 2017 to 2019. He was fired in 2021, unrelated to the DWI scheme.
Henckel and former APD Officer Daniel Carr were added to the district attorney's list of officers deemed no longer credible witnesses in court. Carr has not been charged. Henckel is now the eighth officer to plead guilty to his role in the scheme.
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