By Matthew Reisen
Albuquerque Journal, N.M.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The Bernalillo County Commission chambers were packed with more than 100 Metropolitan Detention Center officers Tuesday night. They came to the microphone one by one, many in union garb, and asked for the removal of Warden Kai Smith, who watched quietly from 20 feet away.
The union brought with them over 1,000 signatures of MDC employees, relatives of staff and county residents asking for a new leader. Those who spoke said Smith’s leadership led to declines in safety and staff morale compounded by fears of retaliation amid policy changes that “cut corners.”
While at least one officer couched their criticism, saying Smith had good intentions with bad execution, they still demanded change. Some speeches were met with clapping, and at least once Smith appeared to join in by patting his hand on the table in rhythm.
Family members of inmates and at least one former inmate told commissioners the warden had made positive changes for those behind bars at MDC, despite what the employees thought.
The strong showing came weeks after 14 members of MDC’s tactical team resigned and the correction officers’ union held a no-confidence vote on Smith. The resignations followed a string of assaults on officers, including two taken hostage by an inmate with a shank who then stabbed another inmate.
When asked Wednesday, County Manager Cindy Chavez said she had no plans to remove Smith. She said she had “a lot of confidence” in the warden and believed there was “absolutely” a way to get everyone on the same page.
“We have been striving to make MDC a safer, more transparent, more accountable place for a long time, and I don’t think it’s any one person’s fault that the improvements still need to be made,” she said. “I think it’s going to take all of us to play a role.”
Union President Joseph Trujeque said the staff would keep pushing for Smith’s removal, even if that meant going to every commission meeting.
“If somehow there’s a 180-degree turn with the warden, and we can sit down and have conversations, that might be a possibility, but the members are pretty adamant that they want him gone,” Trujeque said.
He said they brought issues to Chavez over several meetings but nothing was done, adding “if she had taken some action sooner, we probably wouldn’t be here.”
In a statement Wednesday, Smith said, “I want to acknowledge the dedication, professionalism, and vital role of the staff at the Metropolitan Detention Center .”
“As the leader of a complex organization, I have a responsibility to ensure that safety remains the highest priority in every decision I make,” according to the statement. “I am committed to continuously strengthening the training, procedures, and policies that support our officers and enhance their ability to perform their duties safely and effectively.”
‘At what cost?’
On Tuesday night the commissioners listened intently to the 27 speakers signed up for public comment, most of them officers.
In his 20 years at MDC, Donovan Greathouse said the facility has always faced challenges. He added, “I do not believe any leader sets out to fail and I do not believe Chief Kai wants MDC to fail.”
Greathouse went on to say that, nonetheless, the warden was failing in one area: leadership and communication. Officers “are not resistant to change,” he said.
“What we struggle with is change without explanation, direction without communication and decisions made without considering the concerns of the people who are responsible for carrying them out,” Greathouse said.
Mary Reyna , an officer training instructor, said Smith had built a top-heavy hierarchy that acts less like a leadership team and “more like a human wall” to protect him from responsibility. She said he had a reckless approach to staffing that led to recruits out of high school being provided few resources for the task at hand.
“Are we making it work, yes, but at what cost?” Reyna asked, adding that the facility didn’t have enough radios for every officer, which she called a “lifeline.”
Devon Harrier described, in visceral terms, what officers work through: pools of blood, inmates overdosing, foaming at the mouth, breaking their ribs doing CPR and feeling “the squish of their chest under our hands.”
She continued, “hearing them take their last breath, having to cut inmates down who have committed suicide… we don’t stop our work, we continue, day-in day-out.”
While far outnumbered, people who loved someone behind bars or had been locked up at MDC told a different story — Smith brought change to the facility that, while unappreciated by staff, treated inmates with humanity.
“I understand that the job of a correctional officer is difficult … but no challenge negates the fact that the people behind those walls are human beings,” said Kimberly Apodaca , whose son was jailed at MDC four years ago.
She said the facility had long lacked “human-centered leadership,” and Smith brought “transparency and humanity that gives families like mine hope that progress is possible.”
“Things are not perfect today and no one is claiming they are but since Warden Kai Smith stepped into this role I have witnessed meaningful change,” Apodaca said.
Another woman said her son was jailed in 2021 “under conditions that no person should be subjected to,” lockdowns lasting up to 11 days with no access to basic hygiene or a choice between a call to family or taking a shower.
The woman said when her son was jailed in 2025, he reported significant improvements and fewer arbitrary lockdowns. She added jails “must operate under clear policies, lawful procedures and professional standards.”
Mark Regan, who was jailed at MDC in the last year, said the “real reason” for the no-confidence vote is because Smith had been making “true changes” in the treatment of inmates.
“He’s making them work the pods instead of sitting in a breakroom — eating burritos and not wanting to work — leaving people locked down for days,” he said.
Regan said most MDC inmates are awaiting trial, innocent until proven guilty, “yet treated like animals.”
“Not everyone is homeless or — as they consider — lower than low. Some people are incarcerated, and they have real lives and real families and made mistakes, and they are going to be back in the community,” he said.
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