Nan Zhang came to America 15 years ago, became a citizen, and decided to serve her new country. “So my ultimate goal was to become an APD police officer,” said Zhang, who was originally from China. “It’s (to) protect my community.” But her plans to become a police officer in Albuquerque were dashed, she says, when she was forced to resign. She alleges in a lawsuit that she was abused and discriminated against, nicknamed “Cadet COVID.” RELATED: Albuquerque Police Get Creative with Recruitment “People kept telling me you didn’t belong here,” Zhang said. “You tell me these things every day. This is harassment. I mean, it’s just my age, language, and race. “Now, Target 7 is notified that the Justice Department has contacted Zhang’s attorney. Target 7 has reached out to the US Attorney and they won’t confirm or investigate APD says they do not believe the DOJ is investigating Zhang’s claims, and in legal documents, the city’s lawyers denied that Zhang was ousted from the academy and instead voluntarily resigned. The city attorneys also denied any discrimination by academy staff Zhang.RELATED: Albuquerque Police Department close to 1,100 officers for 2021, recruitment efforts ongoing “I’m an American citizen, I’m American,” said Zhang. “And my rights are the same as everyone else, but they treat me so differently.” KOAT legal expert John Day said there were many allegations made against the DOJ to investigate Ministry, that’s one of their jobs. ”Day said. “One of their jobs is to investigate allegations of civil rights violations. The Justice Department has an obligation to investigate. If they do investigate, it means they have some information that led them to decide that we need to investigate further. ” traveling every day to try to meet the requirements for APD, ”said Zhang. Zhang tested and passed APD’s physical agility tests and written tests with flying colors. She then interviewed three senior police officers – two deputy chiefs and a lieutenant – all agreed that she should be a come a cadet. To become a police officer, candidates must complete 26-week training at the APD Law Enforcement Academy. Zhang had and finished six weeks before saying she was asked to resign. In her lawsuit, she says the academy staff made her sign a resignation letter saying, “I was led to believe she was being quoted – unsuitable for the role. “Before Zhang signed this letter, she said she had experienced what she calls” abuse “for weeks. She claims everyone kept telling her that they couldn’t understand her English. Grover himself graduated from the same academy. “What struck me, looking at the notes Nan had when she provided her narration of what happened, was that she kept her busy while others were getting passports,” Grover said. This was totally inadequate and not the typical stress a police academy puts on. ”Earlier this year, the state’s Human Resource Solutions division investigated her complaint and found no likely cause that the city had discriminated against her still wanting to be a police officer and her community to serve. “I really want to be a cop, honestly,” said Zhang. “But I don’t think they’ll accept people who look like me. Look different. Speak differently. ”
ALBUQUERQUE, NM –
Nan Zhang came to America 15 years ago, became a citizen, and decided to serve her new country.
“So my ultimate goal was to become an APD police officer,” said Zhang, who was originally from China. “It’s (to) protect my community.”
However, her plans to become a police officer in Albuquerque were dashed when she was forced to resign. She claims in a lawsuit that she was abused, discriminated against and that she was nicknamed “Kadett COVID”.
RELATED: Albuquerque Police Department Get Creative with Recruiting
“People kept telling me you didn’t belong here,” Zhang said. “You tell me these things every day. This is harassment. I mean, it’s just my age, my language and my race. “
Target 7 is now told that the Justice Department has turned to Zhang’s attorney.
Target 7 has reached out to the US Attorney General and they will neither confirm nor deny an investigation. APD says they don’t believe the DOJ is investigating Zhang’s claims, and in legal documents, the city’s lawyers denied that Zhang was ousted from the academy and that she voluntarily quit instead. The city’s lawyers also denied any discrimination against Zhang by academy staff.
RELATED: Albuquerque Police Department close to 1,100 officers for 2021, recruitment efforts still underway
“I’m an American citizen, I’m an American,” said Zhang. “And my rights are like everyone else, but they treat me so differently.”
KOAT legal expert John Day said there were many allegations for the DOJ to investigate.
“The Justice Department, that’s one of their jobs,” said Day. “One of their jobs is to investigate allegations of civil rights violations. The Ministry of Justice has an obligation to investigate. If they are actually investigating, it means they have some information that led them to the decision that we need to investigate this further. “
Zhang moved to the United States about 15 years ago. She eventually ended up in Albuquerque and decided to become a police officer after her home was broken into twice in the same week.
“I train every day to meet the requirements for APD,” said Zhang.
Zhang tested APD’s physical and written tests and passed with flying colors
She then interviewed three senior police officers – two deputy chiefs and a lieutenant – all of whom approved her to become cadets.
To become a police officer, cadets must complete 26 weeks of training at the APD Law Enforcement Academy. Zhang had and finished six weeks before she said she was asked to resign.
In her lawsuit, she says academy staff got her to sign a resignation letter saying, “I was led to believe she was being quoted – unsuitable for the role.”
Before Zhang signed the letter, she said she had experienced what she calls “abuse” for weeks.
She claims everyone kept telling her that they couldn’t understand her English.
Zhang hired Tom Grover, a retired Albuquerque police officer, to represent her. Grover himself graduated from the same academy
“What struck me, looking at the notes Nan had when she shared her story of what happened, was that she kept her busy while others were getting ID,” said Grover. “That was completely inappropriate and inconsistent.” With the typical stress of a police academy. “
Earlier this year, the state’s Human Resource Solutions division investigated her complaint and found no likely cause of discrimination by the city
Despite what she claims to have been through, Zhang says she still wants to become a police officer and serve her community.
“I really want to be a police officer, to be honest,” said Zhang. “But I don’t think they’ll accept people who look like me. Look different.
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