New Mexico Officer Under Investigation Cost City $900,000

The city of Albuquerque has spent nearly $900,000 on a former police officer since an investigation began into whether he killed his wife.

Levi Chavez is charged with the murder of his wife, had only been an Albuquerque officer for nine months when the Valencia County Sheriff’s Office started investigating him a month after his wife’s death.

The Albuquerque Journal reports that more than $500,000 was spent on attorney’s fees and experts in a wrongful death lawsuit that named the police department, several officers and Chavez stemming from his wife’s death.

And nearly $400,000 was spent on Chavez’s salary and a legal settlement in the civil case.

The city council approved $30,000 in legal fees earlier this month, marking the final payout in the case.