APD lieutenant named in DWI scandal accused of abusing child in 2016

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – One of the highest-ranking Albuquerque police officers under federal investigation for taking bribes to torpedo DWI cases was under investigation nearly a decade ago. Should Justin Hunt have been kicked off the force before he ever rose to lieutenant?

A 2016 incident report shows Hunt was accused of abusing his child and his ex-wife reported him to be dangerous. But the case went nowhere, and Hunt kept his job at the Albuquerque Police Department. KRQE Investigates asked the department how that happened.

Lapel camera footage from the February 2016 call for service showed Albuquerque police responding to the home of Hunt’s ex-wife’s family member. They told police they believed Hunt abused his then-four-year-old son. “When we changed him, he had a black and blue handprint here and right here on his back,” the family member reported.

At that point, Hunt had been divorced for a little more than a year. The family told the responding officers that Hunt had custody of the boy for the past two days and caused the bruising. “We asked him where it was from. He said Daddy hit me five times,” a family member told APD. They also claimed this happened before and they called the police then, too. “We’ve gone through this three times, four times already,” the family member said. That’s why, this time, the family member explained they requested a sergeant respond.

APD confirmed that the family reported allegations against Hunt in 2015. However the responding officer did not believe a crime occurred, so the incident was only forwarded to the Children, Youth, and Families Department.

This time, a police report was written and forwarded to the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office. It called the offense a “simple assault.” But according to court records, no charges were ever filed against Hunt. When asked why, the District Attorney’s Office explained, “Witnesses were no longer willing to cooperate, so the DA at the time closed the case.”

Even so, it would be typical for the department to look into a report like this involving one of its officers. On scene, Hunt’s ex-wife asked about that. She wanted to know whether an internal affairs, or IA, investigation would be opened this time.

APD confirmed the Internal Affairs unit did not open an investigation into the allegations. A spokesperson commented, “There’s no excuse for the failure to conduct an internal investigation into criminal allegations.”

The only mention KRQE Investigates found of the incident was in a domestic violence petition requesting a restraining order against Hunt. Lapel video from the February 2016 incident showed officers helping his ex-wife file that after the report was taken.

Because the department did not open an IA investigation and no criminal charges were filed, the state licensing board was never notified. If it had been, Hunt’s law enforcement certification could have been revoked. Instead, over the next eight years, Hunt would rise through the ranks to sergeant and then lieutenant.  In a statement, the Albuquerque Police Department responded, “Eight years later, APD is a fundamentally different department where accountability and public trust are top priorities.”

Hunt resigned from APD in February 2024 , five days after being placed on administrative leave. He is one of ten APD officers who worked in the DWI Unit and are under federal investigation accused of being paid to get DWI cases dismissed. Attorney Thomas Clear III has also been named in the public corruption scandal . Court records reveal he represented Hunt in his divorce and the domestic violence proceedings.

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