Video above: On Wednesday, March 27, Todd Perchert, 55, his wife Danielle Perchert and attorney James Tawney held a news conference in southwest Albuquerque following a shooting that led to a crash involving Albuquerque police chief Harold Medina on Feb. 17, 2024. According to the Perchert family and attorney, they are seeking answers and accountability."We've invited you this morning to provide a side of the story that the Albuquerque Police Department has not told you. The aftermath of what happened to Mr. Perchert and his family," Perchert's attorney, James Tawney said."As a military veteran, I appreciate the men and women that go into the military and law enforcement. These are not easy jobs and take a great deal of sacrifice and dedication. I have a great deal of respect for our law enforcement," Perchert said. "However, I am disappointed in the actions of our police chief and the reaction of Mayor Tim Keller praising the chief's decisions."MORE: Investigation into Albuquerque police chief Harold Medina for shooting, crashAccording to Albuquerque police, chief Medina witnessed two men in a physical altercation shortly before he and his wife were "in the direct line of fire and immediate danger." A spokesperson for APD states, a firearm was brandished, and gunshots ensued. As a result, Medina accelerated his unmarked black APD Ford truck forward and struck Perchert's 1966 gold Ford Mustang, while Perchert was traveling eastbound on Central.Related: Did police chief break policy when he ran red light and slammed into a Mustang?"The Saturday of the crash, as I approach the intersection of Central and Alvarado, I clearly recall seeing the green light before going through the intersection. And then all of a sudden, I saw a black truck come out of nowhere and slammed into me on the driver's side," Perchert said during Wednesday's news conference.Video below: Video of crash involving APD chief Harold Medina"After the impact, I opened my eyes and looked through the front windshield to see I was facing the wrong direction. My foot was on the brake. The car was still rolling backward, and the engine had died. The car came to a stop, saw a woman step toward me and said I should call 911, which I did," Perchert said.Stay up-to-date: The latest headlines from KOAT Action 7 News"The pain hit me. I couldn't sit up. I just leaned over the center console. Another woman came over and said I was bleeding while trying to talk with the emergency operator on the phone. I couldn't breathe, making it difficult to talk, so I handed my phone off to a bystander," Perchert said."When the ambulance showed up. They couldn't open the driver's side door, so they pulled me out through the passenger door, which was excruciating pain. I was taken to a local trauma center where medical staff placed a chest tube in my side, which was painful as well. I asked someone to call my wife, but no one could give me an answer on that," Perchert said.Perchert's Injuries, aftermath"It's been constant pain since the crash," Perchert said. "I haven't driven much since the accident."Broken collarbone and shoulder blade8 broken ribs (Reconstructed with titanium plates after surgery)Collapsed lungLacerations to left ear and headMultiple gashes to faceSeven-hour surgeryHospitalized with epidural painkiller and chest tube for nearly a weekPerchert's wife, Danielle, received the news of the crash while out of town for work on the East Coast. According to Perchert , she received a call from an Albuquerque police officer to explain what had occurred."I worked with my team to cover my position and returned home as soon as I could. The 5 a.m. flight the day after the crash wasn't soon enough for me. The evening before my flight, I had to watch the news media coverage of the serious and devastating impact to my husband's life, health and well-being," Perchert said."My husband's injuries, due to the chief's reckless disregard for the lives and safety of others, were secondary and blown off as of no concern by the APD spokesperson and the mayor," Perchert said.Mayor Tim Keller's comments shortly after the crash, Feb. 17"This morning started like a lot of Saturday mornings with a family agenda and schedule. And then also, I was going to meet the chief up here at Adams Market to talk about how we are continuing to do all we can to try and help route 66 and the international district and the whole city with crime.And then, you know, I got a call that it's the call, one of those types of calls that I dread. You know, he starts with 'there's, you know, been an altercation with an officer. There's been a shooting.' And then I hear it's the chief. So that is the worst way I ever want to start the day. Fortunately, in this case, I quickly learned he was OK and what happened with the situation. And I think first and foremost, I'm grateful our chief is OK.The chief of police is arguably the most important, person right now in these times, in our city, in our state. And so, what he did today, I think, also was something he does every day and our officers do every day, which is he is out on the front line. He is doing what he can to make our city safe. And this is actually him on a Saturday morning — Disrupting an altercation, a shooting. Trying to do what's right. Trying to make sure that folks are OK after on scene. This is above and beyond what you expect from a chief. And I'm grateful for Harold Medina.And today I think to also, whether it's our city or the individuals that he helped, or potentially the lives that he saved because of the shooting that was happening. We all owe him a debt of gratitude today and every day, but especially, the Saturday morning. Now, we also know our officers have to do this each and every day. We understand that. I want everyone to know that just like our chief, this is why we are never quitting when it comes to trying to make our city safer. But it's hard. It is extremely hard. It affects everyone, including our chief of police on a Saturday morning. And for us, we need to continue that clarion call for at every single level to do everything we can to make our city safer.It's also not lost on us. The situation with respect to, you know, encampments and a firearm. We don't know any details but would not be surprised if there was fentanyl or whatever other, illegal substance could have been exchanged. These are the kinds of things that we absolutely have to address. And this is not going to change unless we have major steps that we can take at every level.So, for us, whether it's what we're trying to do at APD with our increase in technology or increased investigations, whether it's at the state and the county with behavioral health, whether it's what we're trying to do, even to find shelter for folks to get off the street so that we can resolve this without violence. Or, of course, when there's a gun in someone's hand, this becomes deadly. That's exactly what happens.And so, all of these, this is a summation of where we're at and where we need to go as a community. So, we do have some details we want to share on what's happening. We're going to talk about specifically Adams Market later. That continues to be one of the most violent intersections in our state. And we're not going to give up on that, but we're going to do those details a little bit later. But in general, we want to, share what our commander has to say on some of his operations on central."According to Perchert , Mayor Keller called and left a voicemail after the accident, but there hasn't been further interaction since.Faith Egbuonu: What would you like to see done in terms of justice? Do you feel there's a lack of accountability on APD's part?Todd Perchert: I would prefer this hadn't happened. I don't know what consequences there are for the chief, if anything, so I can't speak about it.Faith Egbuonu: What is it that you guys are seeking? Do you feel like there has been a lack of accountability in the way they handled the situation?Danielle Perchert: Honestly, after that first news report that I saw, I haven't watched the news. That one report made me sick. I couldn't watch anymore. The complete lack of concern for what he had done — this is my family. I'm sorry, but how would they have reacted, if that was their spouse or someone in their family? Someone would have been held accountable. There are consequences for these actions and like stated before, other officers are reprimanded for this. I only saw praises.Faith Egbuonu: How did the crash impact you mentally and emotionally?Danielle Perchert: I kept getting these spam calls, and I was like 'Wow, whoever this is, it's rather persistent, stop trying to sell me something.' Then, they called me on Todd's phone, and I have a distinct ring tone for Todd, and so I picked it up all happy, thinking it was him, and this person started speaking, and I said "Who is this? And, when he said who he was, my heart sank. I immediately started to shake, and I had to get home.Todd Perchert: At the time when the police officer kept saying — talking to her, he kept bringing up the police chief, he mentioned the police chief had, you know — "fleeing the scene," and he couldn't get past that part, to say that he crashed into someone. He crashed into me.Danielle Perchert: I heard multiple times. He started — and after he said who he was, that the police chief was fleeing gunfire and I immediately asked 'Oh my Gosh was my husband shot? He said "No, no, no, the police chief was fleeing" and I just broke into him and said what happened to my husband and again he started back at the beginning, the police chief was fleeing. In my head all I can hear was the police chief was running away, he was running away, he was running away, and my husband is injured because he was running away, and my heart was just — it still hurts to this day to think about it."I thank God every day that Todd is still here. It is by God's grace that he is sitting here today. The crash not only disrupted, but completely upended our lives," Perchert said."We live an active lifestyle. We are always doing something. Gardening or working in the yard, hiking, going on long walks with our dogs, traveling. And Todd had even started training to run half marathons again," Perchert said during Wednesday's news conference. "But now he is in constant pain and has limited mobility. I see on a daily basis his severe pain and the deformity of his left shoulder where the collarbone and shoulder blade are broken.""We saved for two years to take a big trip for our 27th anniversary in May. We had to cancel because we won't be able to make the flight in any level of comfort at 6 hours, let alone he won't be able to hike the canyons, the glaciers, hike in ice caves, ride in four-wheel drive super jeeps, ride horses and do pretty much everything we had booked reservations for," Perchert said.Attorney, James TawneyFaith Egbuonu: To follow-up on my question on lack of accountability, what is your take on how this matter was handled so far through APD?James Tawney: From a very bare-bones perspective. I mean, I don't know why the New Mexico State Police didn't investigate this as opposed to Albuquerque Police Department. I mean, that's the first question. Why is this matter being investigated internally? I thinkthere could have been more done to see how my clients were doing and see how they were recovering and be less focused on chief Medina protecting himself or his wife, as he alleges, and more about protecting the public and endangering motorists on the roadway."In the police department's video statement, the chief is talking about life and death situations. But is one life more important than another? Mayor Tim Keller called the situation an unfortunate combination of events and the chief pointed his finger at gun violence and blamed this devastating car crash on the lack of collaboration with the criminal justice system," Tawney said during Wednesday's news conference."But was it a lack of collaboration on gun violence that prompted the chief of police, the ultimate law enforcement, to violate multiple laws and police department policies? We've two vehicles in both across one of Albuquerque's busiest streets, placing an innocent, unsuspecting man's life in jeopardy," Tawney said.Mayor Tim Keller statement, March 27KOAT reached out to Mayor Tim Keller following the news conference on Wednesday, March 27. A spokesperson for his office sent the statement below:"We are grateful to see Mr. Perchert doing well and wish him a continued strong recovery. We are confident in the ongoing internal investigation by the Office of the Superintendent to evaluate the incident. The mayor did reach out and leave a voicemail to check in with the family, express concern, offer well wishes for Mr. Parchert’s recovery and offer help if there was anything we could do." — Ava MontoyaAlbuquerque Police Department statement, March 27KOAT reached out to the Albuquerque Police Department following the news conference with specific questions regarding the incident. A spokesperson for the department did not answer the questions directly, but sent the statement below:"We’re glad to see Mr. Perchert is recovering from his injuries. Because the internal investigation is ongoing, we’re not going to speculate about the outcome. A crash review board will determine whether the crash was preventable, and the Internal Affairs investigation will determine whether policies were followed during the entire incident. The Superintendent of Police Reform will decide whether discipline is required, based on those findings." — Gilbert GallegosThis is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available.Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.