Northwest Area Commander

Commander Chris Patterson

Commander Chris Patterson started his career with the Albuquerque Police Department in 2006.  Prior to that he served in the United States Marine Corps with two tours to Iraq.  After graduating the Academy, then Officer Patterson worked in the Field Services Bureau in the Valley Area Command and Southeast Area Command.  He was assigned as a Bike Patrol Officer, Field Training Officer, and Emergency Response Team Officer. 

In May of 2015, he promoted to the rank of Sergeant and worked in the Valley Area Command for two years and the Northwest Area Command also for two years.  He served as a Field Training Area Sergeant and Emergency Response Team Sergeant.  In January 2019, he promoted to the rank of Lieutenant and worked in the Foothills Area Command for nine months before transferring to the Albuquerque Police Academy where he served as the Field Training and Evaluation Program Lieutenant and Acting Commander for the Police Academy. 

In August of 2021, he transferred to the Traffic Division as the DWI Section Lieutenant.  There he lead the DWI unit and the newly created Swing Shift Motors Team as they worked to curtail impaired driving and illegal street racing across the city until his promotion and transfer to the Northwest Area Command in November of 2023.