Fatal Shootings
1/9/10: Officer Andrew Cook shoots and kills Aaron Renfro
Location: 5900 Wyoming NE
Aaron Renfro, 32, was fatally shot by officer Andrew Cook after Renfro pulled a gun from his waistband during a foot chase that resulted from a traffic stop, according to police.
Police said Renfro was riding in a car with two other men when officers stopped the car for speeding. According to police, Renfro gave them a fake name that had a warrant out for it.
When officers asked Renfro and the other men to get out of the vehicle, police said Renfro took off running.
When officers yelled at Renfro to stop running, he reached into his waistband, pulled out a gun and was fatally shot by Cook, according to police.
Cook was cleared by a grand jury nine months later.
Related stories:
- Police: Man slain by cop was a ‘career criminal’
- Grand jury: Officer justified in shooting man
- Police bust property crime ring
- Did Aryans target APD?
- Trial over Chandler Barr shooting opens in federal court
1/13/10:Detective Brett Lampiris-Tremba shoots and kills Kenneth Ellis III
Location: 7-11 at Eubank and Constitution NE
Detective Brett Lampiris-Tremba shot Iraq war veteran Kenneth Ellis III once in the neck, killing him, as Ellis was holding a gun to his own head in the parking lot of a Northeast Heights 7-Eleven.
On the morning of January 13, 2010, Officer Byron “Trey” Economidy pinned Ellis’ Corvette into a parking space in front of the 7-Eleven on the corner of Constitition and Eubank as part of an auto theft investigation.
Economidy said he had run Ellis’ license plate through a database and the plate came back to a “Ford COR,” which didn’t match the Chevy Corvette Ellis was driving.
According to Economidy, Ellis admitted to being high on methamphetamine and handed Economidy a knife he was carrying.
As Economidy took the knife back to his patrol car, Ellis got out of the Corvette and held a gun to his own head. Economidy said he then pulled his AR-15 from the trunk of his police car and sought cover behind a gas pump.
Soon after, Detective Brett Lampiris-Tremba arrived on scene.
Ellis continued to slowly pace in a small area while holding a handgun to his own head.
Lampiris-Tremba shot Ellis once in the neck from 10 to 15 feet away with his Springfield 1911 .45 caliber handgun, ending the nine-minute encounter.
Lampiris-Tremba said during two statements to investigators — one immediately after the incident, and one nine months later — that he fired the fatal shot after Ellis had made a “twitch,” but he later said, during a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Ellis’ family, that Ellis had taken a step towards another officer.
Ellis, a 25-year-old veteran, suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder after serving as an infantryman in the Iraq war. According to Ellis’ mother, he had been kicked out of an in-patient PTSD program at the Albuquerque VA Hospital for missing an appointment. He tried to get back into the program, but was was told there was no more room.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the APD Criminal Intelligence Unit warned APD officers that Ellis had been a member of the Aryan Brotherhood and that the gang planned to retaliate against police for his death. It was later learned that the claim, which some believed was highly dubious, was based on a lone jailhouse snitch.
While APD was never able to verify the claim of Ellis’ membership in the gang, APD was involved in two more high-profile cases — the fatal shooting of Jacob Mitschelen and repeated kicking of Nicholas Blume — in which the suspects were labeled in internal APD documents as members of white supremacist gangs.
Lampiris-Tremba was cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting by both APD Internal Affairs and a grand jury.
Ellis’ family filed a lawsuit against the city that alleged negligent hiring and supervision and wrongful death.
In an unusual finding, State District Judge Shannon Bacon ruled before the trial began that an officer making objectively reasonable decisions wouldn’t have shot Ellis — that as a matter of law, Lampiris-Tremba had used excessive force.
A great deal of testimony during the trial centered on the way APD trains its officers to deal with people in crisis.
Ellis’s family offered to settle the lawsuit for $1 million before Judge Bacon ruled that the that the shooting was unlawful, but the city refused.
In March, 2013, a jury awarded Ellis’ family $10.3 million, one of the largest judgments ever leveled against the city. The award included $7.6 million against the city for wrongful death and $2.7 million in punitive damages against Lampiris-Tremba.
Jurors also ruled that Lampiris-Tremba acted “willfully, wantonly or recklessly.”
After filing an appeal, the city agreed in January 2014 to pay Ellis’ family $7.95 million.
Lampiris-Tremba is still employed by APD.
Related stories:
- Iraq Vet Commits Suicide by Cop
- Albuquerque Police Name Officer Involved in Shooting
- VA Defends Care After Vet’s ‘Suicide by Cop’
- Did Aryans Target APD?
- Rally Protests Police Shootings
- Civil Rights Complaint Filed Against Two Officers
- Judges Nix Special Grand Juries in APD Shootings
- Lawsuit Puts APD Hiring On Trial
- Review: APD Shooting Wasn’t Justified
- Grand Jury Finds Jan. 13 Officer-Involved Shooting Was Justified
- BernCo DA clears another APD officer in 2011 fatal shooting
- Grand Jury Probe Into Deadly Force Urged
- Police panel asked to revisit shooting
- Families Thankful For Inquiry Into Shootings
- 2010 APD shooting inches toward trial
- State District Court judge rules APD shooting unconstitutional
- Ruling on APD case a setback for city
- Complaint in Wrongful Death To Be Unsealed
- Trial opens in APD shooting death
- Expert questions officer’s hiring
- Officer Explains Fatal Shooting
- APD officer ‘consciously’ shot Ellis
- Jury gets APD shooting case
- Odds, ends and context from the Ellis trial
- $10 million verdict in APD shooting
- Ellises offered to settle APD suit
- $10.3M verdict won’t up tax bills
- Ellis family accuses city of delaying tactics
3/29/10: Officer Kevin Sanchez shoots and kills Mickey Owings
Location: 2500 Coors NW
Armed robbery suspect Mickey Owings, 26, was shot and killed by Kevin Sanchez after fleeing from the Walmart parking lot on Coors NW when police attempted to surround the car he was in.
Owings rammed the green Jeep he driving in into multiple police vehicles and shoppers’ cars in an effort to get away before Sanchez shot him, according to police.
A pregnant woman, Michelle Munoz, 26, was in the vehicle with Owings during the incident.
In September 2011, a grand jury found Sanchez justified in shooting Owings.
Related stories:
- Armed Robbery Suspect Fatally Shot by Albuquerque Police
- Robbery Suspect Killed by Police
- Slain Suspect Had Long Record
- Cops Cleared in 2 Shootings
6/10/10: Officers Eric Brown, Anthony Sedler shoot and kill Chris Hinz
Location: 5500 Carruthers NE
Officer Eric Brown shot and killed 43-year-old Chris Hinz after he approached officers armed with a rifle after police were called to his home by neighbors, according to police.
Police were dispatched to Hinz’s Northeast Heights home after neighbors called and said they saw him walking around outside intoxicated and holding a weapon.
Officers said that when they arrived on scene, the garage door was open, but they didn’t see Hinz. While officers were outside the home, they said they heard gunshots coming from inside and called for a tactical team.
Hinz eventually came to the front door but refused to come out. He later exited the garage armed with the rifle and began approaching officers, according to police.
Two tactical team officers, Eric Brown and Anthony Sedler, shot at Hinz, who died on scene.
During Hinz’s funeral, his friends and family members expressed concern over APD’s use of force. They emailed city officials, including former police chief Ray Schultz, asking why officers didn’t try to first shoot the gun out of Hinz’s hands.
Both officers were later found to be justified in the shooting.
Related stories:
- Police: Man in Standoff Had Rifle
- Albuquerque Man Killed During Police Standoff ID’d
- Friends criticize police shooting
- Obituary: Chris Ronald Hinz
6/14/10: Officer Aaron Zwicky shoots and kills Julian Calbert
Location: Avalon and 98th Street NW
Julian Calbert, a 42-year-old man from Tucumcari, was shot and killed by officer Aaron Zwicky at the Flying J Truck Stop at Avalon and 98th in northwest Albuquerque after one of two women he kidnapped at knife point from the University of New Mexico parking garage called 911 from inside the trunk of Calbert’s car, according to police.
Zwicky, a three-year officer with the Albuquerque Police Department, fatally shot Calbert after Calbert punched the officer and threatened him with a knife, police said.
Calbert, who had a lengthy criminal history including criminal sexual penetration, child abuse, aggravated battery, burglary and larceny, had been convicted for his involvement in the 1998 shooting death of another Tucumcari man, Felix Miguel Gutierrez, according to police reports.
In September 2010, a Bernalillo County grand jury found that officer Zwicky was justified in shooting Calbert.
Related stories:
- APD Shootings Escalate; Eight So Far This Year
- Grand Jury Finds Officer-Involved Shooting in June Was Justified
- Police ID Officer In Sunday’s Crash
7/27/10: Officer Jeremy Hollier shoots and kills Len Fuentes
Location: 3400 Crest SE
Len Fuentes, 41, was shot and killed by officer Jeremy Hollier when Fuentes threatened officers with a knife during a domestic violence call in southeast Albuquerque, according to police.
Hollier, a three-year veteran, and another officer responded to an apartment on Crest SE after neighbors reported a loud altercation between Fuentes and a woman.
When the officers arrived, they said they found Fuentes outside of the residence with a woman and her mother.
One of the women was putting her belongings into a vehicle as Fuentes stood at the door of the apartment screaming and acting aggressively, according to a search warrant affidavit.
When Fuentes reached for a knife he had in his waistband, a struggle ensued between Fuentes and officers. Fuentes slipped out of the grasp of the officers and backed away, raising the knife in his right hand, according to police.
Officers said that when they raised their weapons and commanded Fuentes to drop the knife, he responded, “Shoot me (expletives)!”
Fuentes lunged toward the officers and Hollier fired two shots, hitting Fuentes in the chest and in the stomach, according to the affidavit.
Fuentes died at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Fuentes’ mother has been highly critical of APD’s fatal shooting of her son, who she said suffered from schizophrenia.
In September 2011, a grand jury found that Hollier was justified in shooting Fuentes.
Related stories:
- Police Identify Man Killed By Officer
- Man Killed by Police Had Mental Health Issues
- City Police Wrestle With Spike in Shootings
- Cops Cleared in 2 Shootings
8/17/10: Officer Josh Brown shoots and kills Enrique Carrasco
Location: Near Montgomery and San Mateo
Officer Josh Brown fired his weapon seven times killing 38-year-old Enrique Carrasco after a struggle during a domestic violence incident in the parking lot of the Ross discount store on Montgomery and San Mateo, according to police.
Brown, a two-year APD veteran, shot Carrasco, a city employee, three times in the back, twice in the top of the head, once in the back of the head and once in the forehead, according to an autopsy report.
The incident began when officers received calls that an argument between Carrasco and his girlfriend, which started during a back-to-school shopping trip, had turned violent, police said.
When officers arrived at the scene, Carrasco had run eastbound on Montgomery Boulevard. Brown spotted him near Del Norte High School and pulled in front of him in a patrol car, police said. Carrasco jumped on the hood of Brown’s vehicle and began jabbing at the driver’s side window with the knife.
According to police, a “tug of war” between Brown and Carrasco ensued as Carrasco attempted to open the door and Brown fought him off. That’s when Brown shot Carrasco seven times.
Carrasco was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said at the time that Carrasco had broken the window out during the altercation, but
an autopsy report showed that at least one bullet went through glass before striking him.
Carrasco was a maintenance worker at the Palo Duro Senior Center near San Mateo and Comanche NE.
Carrasco was arrested in 2000 after he bit and broke the finger of a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy, according to a police report. He was eventually convicted of aggravated battery on a peace officer.
In March 2011, a grand jury found that Brown was justified in shooting Carrasco.
Related stories:
- ‘Officer Was in a Fight for His Life’
- City Police Wrestle With Spike in Shootings
- Grand Jury Clears Cop in Shooting
10/19/10: Officers Drew Bader, Ramon Ornelas shoot and kill Daniel Gonzales
Location: Tucumcari
APD SWAT team members Drew Bader and Ramon Ornelas fatally shot 56-year-old Daniel Gonzales after police said he threatened them with two shotguns during a 6-hour standoff at a home in Tucumcari.
According to State Police, Gonzales was involved in a domestic dispute with his ex-wife at a Tucumcari residence. The woman and her grandchildren were able to leave the home, but Gonzales stayed inside and only agreed to talk to police officers through a screen door.
Tucumcari police turned the case over to State Police, who in turn asked for assistance from the Albuquerque Police Department SWAT team.
At one point during the standoff, police said Gonzales stepped out onto the home’s porch armed with a shotgun. A short time later he grabbed a pistol, rifles and ammunition, and pointed the rifle at officers, who took cover, police said.
After trying to negotiate with Gonzales by phone for more than an hour and a half, Gonzales stood at the front door with shotguns in both hands and threatened police, police said. Bader and Ornelas fired at Gonzales, killing him.
Related stories:
10/31/10: Officer David Sprague shoots and kills Alexei Sinkevitch
Location: 6500 Tierra Prieta NW
Officer David Sprague shot and killed 37-year-old Alexei Sinkevitch after Sinkevitch threatened officers with an assault rifle outside his northwest Albuquerque home, according to police.
Police said the situation started when officers responded to reports of a Jeep Cherokee that struck four parked cars in a northwest Albuquerque neighborhood. Police traced the Jeep to a home at 6509 Tierra Prieta NW and went there to investigate. Officers said that when they arrived they heard someone inside but no one answered the door.
APD dispatchers called the home telephone line and instructed the man who answered the phone to go outside and meet officers empty handed.
According to police, Sinkevitch came out of the house carrying an assault rifle that had been converted to a .22 caliber firearm and ignored the officers’ commands to drop the weapon. The butt of the firearm was tucked under Sinkevitch’s arm and he had the weapon pointed straight out in front of him, police said.
When Sinkevitch pointed the weapon at officers, Sprague shot him several times, police said.
Sinkevitch was transported to University of New Mexico Hospital where he died.
It was later found that Sinkevitch’s weapon was not loaded and that he held the bullets in his hand.
A grand jury later found that Sprague was justified in shooting Sinkevitch.
Related stories:
- Officer Kills Armed Man
- Albuquerque Police Fatally Shoot Man Armed With Assault Rifle
- Police Not Aware of Danger
2/9/11: Detective Byron “Trey” Economidy shoots and kills Jacob Mitschelen
Location: San Pedro and Kathryn SE
Detective Byron “Trey” Economidy shot 29-year-old Jacob Mitschelen twice in the back and once in the buttocks after Mitschelen allegedly pointed a weapon at the officer during a foot chase after a traffic stop in southeast Albuquerque.
Economidy, 31, was on gang unit patrol when he spotted Mitschelen driving near San Pedro and Kathryn SE, according to police.
Economidy, who was a seven-year veteran of the department, attempted to pull Mitschelen over for an expired license tag in the parking lot of a strip mall, but Mitschelen got out of the vehicle and fled on foot. According to Economidy, Mitschelen stumbled as he was running, and a gun fell out of his clothing.
Economidy said he ordered Mitschelen to drop the gun, but Mitschelen picked up the weapon and pointed it at the officer. Econimidy fired five shots at Mitschelen, striking him in the back and the buttocks.
Mitschelen died several hours later at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Investigators later discovered that no bullet was in the chamber of the gun Mitschelen was carrying, but that he had two loaded magazines in his possession.
The autopsy report by the Office of the Medical Investigator said the gunshot wounds were to Mitschelen’s left upper back, left midback and left buttock, and that the shots were fired from “indeterminate range.”
Economidy had not been “qualified” to use the .45-caliber Kimber handgun with which he shot Mitschelen, according to police officials. APD policy states that officers can carry personal firearms on the job, but only if they have passed a qualification test. Econimidy was disciplined for violating this policy.
Within days of the shooting, it was reported that Econimidy had listed his job as “human waste disposal” on his personal Facebook page. The description was taken down, but Econimidy was disciplined for the comment and APD later developed a new social media policy for its officers.
Economidy was involved in an earlier incident that lead to the fatal shooting of Kenneth Ellis’ by APD Detective Brett Lampiris-Tremba.
In the aftermath of the shooting of Ellis, the APD Criminal Intelligence Unit warned APD officers that Ellis had been a member of the Aryan Brotherhood and that the gang planned to retaliate against police for his death.
A memo written Feb. 3, 2010, by APD Sgt. Ryan Buckner of the Criminal Intelligence Unit, the department’s covert operations wing, cited “recent credible and multi-source information” of an “Aryan Brotherhood plot to kill an Albuquerque police officer.”
Court papers and testimony from a former APD officer during a personnel board hearing indicate the threat was in the APD’s collective consciousness at the time Economidy shot Mitschelen.
After Mitschelen was shot and killed, Buckner produced an intelligence memo for Police Chief Ray Schultz and city attorneys that identified Mitschelen as a white supremacist.
It was later learned that the claim of an Aryan Brotherhood plot to kill an Albuquerque police officer, which some believed was highly dubious, was based on a lone jailhouse snitch.
In April 2013, the district attorney’s office cleared Econimidy in the shooting.
In January 2014, the City of Albuquerque agreed to pay $300,000 to settle a federal civil rights and wrongful death lawsuit brought by Mitschelen’s family.
Related stories:
- Police ID Man Shot, Killed by Officer
- Officer Said His Job Is ‘Human Waste Disposal’
- Detective in Shooting Not on Streets
- Officer Got Personal Texts After Shooting
- Autopsy: Mitschelen Was Shot in the Back
- APD: Officer Not Qualified To Use Weapon
- Cop in Facebook Scandal Back on Street
- Economidy Discipline: Four Days
- A ‘Stain’ on APD
- Did Aryans Target APD?
- ‘Human Waste Disposal’ Officer, City Being Sued
- Watchdogs Clear Cop In Shooting
- DA clears officer in fatal 2011 shooting
- Document: District Attorney’s official review of the shooting of Mitschelen
- APD settles for $300,000 in fatal shooting
4/12/11: Detective Christopher J. Brown shoots and kills Christopher Torres
Location: 7600 Sunrose NW
Detective Christopher J. Brown shot and killed 27-year-old Christopher Torres with three shots into Torres’ back at close range after Torres grabbed a detective’s pistol during a struggle that ensued when officers attempted to serve Torres with a warrant.
Torres, the son of Bernalillo County Deputy Manager Renetta Torres, was a diagnosed paranoid schizophrenic.
Detectives Christopher Brown and Richard Hilger had obtained a warrant for Torres’ arrest on a felony charge of aggravated auto burglary for trying to carjack a woman at a traffic light on Paseo del Norte nearly a month earlier.
Although it was documented in public court and police records, Brown said he did not know that Torres had a history of schizophrenia when he and Hilger set off in undercover clothing to arrest and question Torres at his parent’s home. Had they known, they said, backup units would have likely been sent to help the officers deal with Torres.
When detectives arrived at the Torres home, Hilger said he saw Torres standing in his backyard and asked him to come out and speak with officers. Brown said Torres replied, “This is my backyard and you will have to fight with me.”
Both officers hurdled a fence and a violent encounter quickly followed, with Brown straddling Torres, who was face down in the backyard, and both officers trying to wrestle him into handcuffs.
During the scuffle, Torres managed to grab Hilger’s pistol, accordint to the officers. Brown said he drew his service pistol and fired three shots just inches from Torres’ back. Torres continued to struggle until after the third shot was fired, he said.
Hilger said he punched Torres four or five times as he commanded Brown to shoot Torres.
Torres was pronounced dead at the scene.
Renetta Torres, Christopher Torres’ mother, has become a vocal critic of the department’s use of force.
Torres’ family members filed a wrongful death civil lawsuit alleging that routine police work would have revealed that Torres suffered from mental illness and that the officers’ confrontational approach led to his death.
In the wake of the shooting, APD launched “Project Guardian,” a database-driven system that is designed to alert officers who are serving warrants or responding to other types of calls that they may encounter someone with a mental illness.
A federal lawsuit was also filed on Torres’ behave alleging the culture at the Albuquerque Police Department permitted systematic use of excessive force and that APD violated Torres’ civil rights and his rights under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
In February 2014, the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office cleared Brown and Hilger in the shooting death of Torres, but not before criticizing the APD’s investigation of the incident in which APD waited nearly two years to interview the only eyewitness to the shooting.
“It is unfathomable to imagine a 911 caller and eyewitness to the event was not questioned by law enforcement until almost two years later,” the DA’s report read.
Related stories:
- Obituary: Christopher Michael Torres
- City Police Kill Son of County Official
- Officers Unaware of Mental Issues
- Family: APD ‘1,000 Times Negligent’
- Police Union Lashes Out Over Mayor’s Proposal
- APD Policy on Mentally Ill Flexible
- Family Files Suit in Fatal APD Officer-Involved Shooting
- Database To Warn Cops Of Dangers
- Police Sued Over Fatal Shooting
- ‘He’s got my gun, shoot him’
- DA clears officers in Torres’ killing
- Civil trial in APD shooting begins
- Witness describes scene in APD fatal shooting
- Man shot by police was not violent, psychiatrist says
- Did investigation of APD shooting fall short?
- Parents of mentally ill man fatally shot by APD testify
5/10/11: Officer Sean Wallace shoots and kills Alan Gomez
Location: 2800 Madison NE
Alan Gomez, 22, was unarmed when he was shot and killed from across a street by officer Sean Wallace after the girlfriend of Gomez’s brother called police and said Gomez wasn’t letting the couple leave her house.
According to a 911 call released by police, officers were dispatched to the woman’s home after she called and said that Gomez had a gun and that she was being held inside.
In the 911 call, the woman, who identified herself as “Jolene,” is heard whispering to a dispatcher that Gomez “won’t let us move.” The woman told the dispatcher she didn’t know what was wrong with Gomez and asked her to “please hurry.”
Police said they had also heard reports that Gomez had stepped outside and fired a gun at least twice before they arrived.
After 45 minutes of trying to get Gomez to come outside empty-handed, police say he came out carrying an unidentified object.
Wallace said when Gomez turned around and started walking back into the house, he feared for the safety of those inside and fired his rifle once from across the street.
Gomez died at the scene.
An autopsy report showed that despite Wallace’s claim that Gomez was walking back into the house at the time he was shot, the bullet had struck Gomez in the chest.
Police said they later learned the object Gomez was holding was a plastic spoon. An attorney for the Gomez family disputes that Gomez was holding anything in his hands, saying that no object was found near Gomez after the shooting.
A gun was later found in a hall closet, but Gomez was not carrying it when he was shot.
The shooting was Wallace’s third in the line of duty. Two of the shootings were fatal. None of the three men Wallace shot was armed,
Gomez’s father Michael Gomez has become an outspoken critic of APD’s use of force, and frequently speaks at city council meetings.
In May 2013, the district attorney’s office cleared Wallace of any wrongdoing in the shooting, but in December of the same year, the city agreed to a $900,000 settlement in a wrongful death lawsuit brought by Gomez’s family.
Related stories:
- One Dead in Officer-Involved Shooting in NE ABQ
- Officer Shoots Man
- Shooting Was Police Officer’s Third
- APD Methods Blasted
- Lawsuit Targets APD Hiring
- ABQ sanctioned for ‘lost’ APD statement
- DA clears APD officer in fatal 2011 shooting
- 2011 APD shooting costs city $900,000
6/4/11: Officers Troy Nikko, William Thomas, Michael Oates shoot and kill Raymond Garcia
Location: 5711 Lomas Blvd NE
Raymond Leroy Garcia, 41, was shot and killed by officers Troy Nikko, William Thomas and Michael Oates after he hijacked a pickup truck driver at gunpoint in the parking lot of a liquor store and then led officers on a high speed pursuit, according to police.
Garcia had been out of prison less than two months when he allegedly tried to carjack two different people outside the Freeway Liquors store on Second Street NW.
Officers patrolling the area noticed a commotion and pulled into the parking lot as the carjacking was taking place, police said. The officers, who were in two separate cars, began a pursuit that at one point reached speeds of up to 60 mph through city streets.
The pursuit came to an end at Lomas and Palomas NE when two police cruisers pinned the truck Garcia had stolen against an iron fence beside Cross Country Auto Sales.
Officers commanded Garcia to show his hands, but they spotted a gun instead, police said.
Garcia ignored commands to drop the weapon, and the officers shot multiple times, according to police.
In February 2012, a grand jury found Nikko, Thomas and Oates justified in the shooting.
Related stories:
- APD Officers Kill Suspected Carjacker
- APD Names Suspect, Officers From Saturday’s Shooting
- Man Shot by Police Had Criminal History
- 3 Officers Cleared in Killing of Carjack Suspect
8/30/11: Officer Jim Perdue shoots and kills Michael Marquez
Location: Central Avenue and 60th Street
Armed robbery suspect Michael Marquez, 31, was carrying an AK-47 in a duffel bag when he was fatally shot by SWAT team member Jim Perdue after a standoff in an open field, according to police.
Police said Marquez was wanted in connection to three robberies when detectives attempted to arrest him at an apartment on 60th Street, north of Central NW.
Detectives had been watching Marquez at the apartment when he apparently spotted them and walked out the back door. His girlfriend, who had been at the apartment, told police he had a gun, police said.
When officers tried to approach Marquez he seemed “agitated” and began making comments to them about not going back to jail and “going out with a bang,” police said.
Marquez was holding a blue-and-white duffel bag and refused to put it down, according to police. A crisis negotiation team was called in, but Marquez continued to disobey police commands,
During the standoff, Marquez reached into the bag and cycled a round in what turned out to be an AK-47. That’s when SWAT sniper James Perdue shot Marquez once in the head and once in the chest, according to police.
Police later learned that the AK-47 held by Marquez was loaded with 30 military-grade bullets.
An autopsy report showed that Marquez had large quantities of methamphetamine in his system when he was shot.
Marquez, a convicted felon with a lengthy New Mexico arrest history that dates back to 1992, had five children and was unemployed.
In March 2013, the district attorney’s cleared Perdue of any wrong doing in the shooting.
Related stories:
- Man With AK-47 Killed by Sniper
- SWAT Sniper ID’d in Latest APD Fatal Shooting
- AK-47 Was Loaded
- Man Shot By Police Was High On Meth
- APD officer cleared in fatal shooting
1/4/12: Officer Mario Perez shoots and kills Mark Macoldowna
Location: 5300 St. Josephs Dr NW
Mark Macoldowna, a 31-year-old resident of Ruidoso, was shot and killed by officer Mario Perez while attempting to rob the Catholic Center/St. Pius X complex in northwest Albuquerque. Macoldowna drove to Albuquerque from Ruidoso after planning a robbery for weeks.
Macoldowna, who also used the name Mark Beechum, was a “self-described Constitutionalist” who “hates Catholics,” according to police
After the robbery, Macoldowna was shot outside the complex by Mario Perez, who couldn’t remember who fired first. Low-quality video taken from a security camera appeared to show Macoldowna firing first before dropping the empty safe he stole.
Perez shot five times, four of them striking Macoldowna, killing him. The two were 6 to 8 feet away from one another during the confrontation.
Macoldowna’s two accomplices were Kymberly Bates, his 24-year-old girlfriend, and his friend James Kellogg, 33, both of Ruidoso, police said. The two helped him plan and execute the robbery, but weren’t there during the actual event.
No charges were filed against Perez.
Related stories:
- Police Identify Officer, Man He Shot During Wednesday Robbery
- Cops: Man Hated Catholics
- Investigation of APD Still Sought
- DA outlines new process for cop shooting cases
3/19/12: Officer Martin Smith shoots and kills Daniel Tillison
Location: 8200 Marquette NE
Officer Martin Smith shot and killed 31-year-old Daniel Tillison outside of an apartment complex after Tillison crashed his car into Smith’s cruiser after the officer responded to a call about someone selling a stolen stereo, according to police.
Smith approached Tillison when he arrived at the apartment complex at 8200 Marquette NE, but Tillison jumped in his car and smashed into another vehicle before crashing into Smith’s cruiser.
Smith responded by firing two shots at Tillison, who was not armed.
Tillison was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police at the time said the black SUV Tillison was driving was his weapon. Tillison’s family said his nickname was “Oreo,” and according to court records, he had a criminal history.
Tillison was scheduled to go to trial in state District Court the month after the shooting on charges of conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, possession of heroin and possession of paraphernalia, court records show.
Police said Smith thought Tillison was pointing a gun at him, but it later turned out to be a cell phone.
Smith had left APD for a time to join the military.
In May 2013, the district attorney’s office cleared Smith of any wrongdoing in the shooting.
Related stories:
- APD Officer Fatally Shoots Suspect
- One Dead In NE ABQ Officer-Involved Shooting
- APD Identifies Officer Involved in Fatal Shooting
- Cop won’t be charged in shooting
3/21/12: Officer Russ Carter shoots and kills Gary Atencio
Location: Milemarker 107 on Interstate 40
Officer Russ Carter fatally shot 45-year-old Gary Atencio after Atencio led police on high-speed car chase for more than 50 miles followed by a half-mile foot chase after shooting at two female motorists on Albuquerque’s West Side, according to police.
The incident began when Atencio and his wife began fighting over their impending divorce. Atencio initially tried to choke his wife as they were driving in his yellow mustang, but she was able to escape and was picked up by a friend. That’s when Atencio opened fire on her, shooting multiple times through the windshield before pulling her out of the vehicle and shooting at her at close range. All of his shots at her missed.
He fled and police began tailing him as he led them on a chase with speeds reaching 130 mph before Atencio crashed and led police on a half-mile foot chase through a field next to I-40 before he was shot by Carter.
It was Carter’s third officer-involved shooting, and his second outside of city limits.
Carter was one of seven officers from various departments who fired shots at 59-year-old John Loche in McIntosh, N.M. in 2005. Loche, who was killed, had barricaded himself inside his home.
In 2007, Carter was one of the officers who fatally shot 42-year-old Jay Martin Murphy after Murphy barricaded himself inside his Albuquerque home with his teenage daughter.
Two months after Atencio was killed, the Albuquerque Police Department changed policies, emphasizing that APD should only be in a supporting role when incidents move outside the city in an effort to lower officer-involved shooting numbers.
Carter was put on paid leave in 2007 after he faced felony charges in Arkansas due to a bar fight with two bouncers and another APD officer.
Police found $90,000 in Atencio’s car as well as marijuana, and said Atencio had told police he wanted to commit suicide by cop in the past.
Related stories:
- Suspect In I-40 Car Chase Fatally Shot By APD Officer Near Laguna Pueblo
- ABQ Police Officer Kills Man After Chase
- Officer Who Shot Suspect Has History With Police Shootings
- 911 Calls From Fatal Chase
- $90,000, Pot Found In Man’s Trunk
- Officers Get Union Checks After Shootings
- Berry: Shooting Payouts Must End
- APD To Limit Role in Incidents Out of Its Area
3/5/13: Officers Perdue, Sedler and Aragon shoot and kill Parrish Dennison
Location: Louisiana and Menaul
Parrish Dennison, 41, was shot and killed by APD Swat team members after Dennison, who was armed with a handgun, led police on a foot chase and hourslong manhunt in northeast Albuquerque, according to police.
A woman tried to sell a stolen banjo and bass to Music Go Round on Louisiana and Menaul on Tuesday, March 5 when police were called, and saw two suspects in a car in the busy shopping mall parking lot. One was able to drive away, while Dennison jumped out of the car and ran away through strip mall, climbing a fence to get on a roof.
Dennison then pointed a .22 silver handgun at the officer before jumping down and losing police.
Two hours later, an APD helicopter located Dennison and police flushed him out, after which he tried to break into a cafe before being shot 3 to 4 times in the torso and stomach.
It’s unclear whether he pointed the weapon at police right before they shot him.
Police later claimed that Dennison, a convicted felon, was part of the white supremacist Aryan Brotherhood, a group police had said targeted police officers in 2010.
Jim Perdue and Anthony Sedler have each been involved in at least one previous shooting. Both were on the SWAT team at the time of those shootings.
Related stories:
- Police question driver in shooting
- Police identify man shot by police
- Chief: Suspect had long criminal history
3/19/13: APD shot at Kendall Carroll, but he was killed by State Police
Location: 13000 Constitution NE
An APD officer shot at, but missed, Kendall Carroll, 21, during a four-hour SWAT standoff between Carroll and State Police and APD, during which Carroll fired numerous times at officers from inside a Northeast Heights apartment. A State Police officer fired the shot that killed Carroll.
Carroll’s brother, Michael Carroll, surrendered to police before State Police sniper Shane Todd ultimately fired the lethal shot, killing 21-year-old Kendall Carroll, who had run-ins with the law since he was 11 years old.
Police initially went to the apartment at 13000 Constitution to look for someone who had shot at an APD officer a few days earlier.
Police later said one of the guns found in the apartment matched the bullet that ricocheted and wounded APD officer Ignas Danius three days earlier, leading them to believe Kendall Carroll intentionally fired at police during that incident as well.
The brothers’ mother was upset at police, saying “Why did you kill my baby?” and other family members have been critical as well.
It is unclear if Carroll pointed the gun he was holding at officers before he was shot.
Related stories:
- State Police officer shoots, kills man during ABQ SWAT standoff
- New details in SWAT standoff, police shooting
- Video shows shooting of rookie APD cop
- Gun found at standoff was used to shoot cop
7/5/13: Officers Jeff Bludworth and Katherine Wright shoot and kill Vincent Wood
Location: San Mateo and Montgomery
Vincent Wood, 66, brandished two large knives at police officers at a North Valley gas station before being shot as many as six times at close range by officers Jeff Bludword and Katherine Wright, according to police.
Wood, a Vietnam veteran with PTSD, had gunshot wounds in his upper right chest, lower left chest, left stomach, penis, lower back, left buttock and upper left arm, in addition to two to his left forearm.
Jeff Bludworth and Katherine Wright both shot at Wood within a minute of the confrontation, even as a crisis prevention officer was arriving on scene.
Wood’s family has been critical of the shooting, saying the officers should have waited for the crisis prevention officer. A security guard at a nearby shopping mall initially called 911 saying Wood was threatening kids with the knives.
Related stories:
- APD officers kill man armed with 2 butcher knives
- Man killed by police identified as Vietnam vet
- APD officer fired gun as fellow cop attacked
- Man’s family charges ‘overkill’ in cop shooting
10/26/13: Officer Luke McPeek and others shoot Christopher Chase
Location: Fourth and Montano
Christopher Chase, 35, led dozens of police officers on a 16-mile police chase after stealing an APD cruiser and firing at police with an assault rifle. He shot and wounded four law enforcement officers, one badly, before dying at Fourth and Montano.
Police fired at him, but have not said if he was killed by police fire. Police identified Luke McPeek as one of the officers who fired at Chase, but have not released the names of the other officers if there were any, and have not said how many times they fired. Chase, wearing camoflage and body armor, ambushed police near Coal and Broadway before firing at three other officers.
He had the words “cop killer” tattooed on his knuckles, and when police searched his house on Walter SE later in the evening, they found it rigged with fake booby traps. Fish line was hanging from boarded up windows.
The most seriously injured law enforcement officer was Robin Hopkins, whose leg was shot and who is still learning to walk.
According to an autopsy released in February 2014, Chase was shot eight times, including four times in the neck. He also suffered one gunshot wound to the front of his head near his scalp.
Chase had no drugs in his system, according to the autopsy, which tested for marijuana, methamphetamine, cocaine and opiates.
The autopsy also found that Chase had several injuries from blunt trauma, which may have been caused when Chase crashed the APD cruiser he was driving into a gas pump near Fourth and Montano.
Related stories:
- Three officers shot in chase, suspect dead
- ‘Like a war zone’: 3 officers down, suspect dead in shooting spree
- APD releases more details about Saturday chase that injured four officers
- Police ID suspected gunman, report “cop killer” tattoo
- Albuquerque police postpone briefing on ‘recent events’
- APD chief outlines shooting, chase
- APD identifies injured officers
- Officers wounded in ABQ shootout are police veterans
- ‘They performed with valor. They’re heroes.’
- Two cases: Mental illness and targeting authority
- A bullet, a rescue and a long road home
- APD withholding public records about shootings
12/8/13: Officer Hector Marquez shoots and kills Andy Snider
Location: Mesa and Gold
Officer Hector Marquez shot and killed 37-year-old Andy Snider, who was armed with a hammer, after officers responded to an assault call at the 7-Eleven on University and Central, according to police.
Police officers chased Snider into an alley before he confronted them with the 10-inch claw hammer.
Officers shot the suspect with a bean bag shotgun before shooting him “at least once” with live ammunition when he was a few feet away.
Police have not said exactly how many shots were fired, or how many times the man was hit.
Police said a sergeant was supervising the call, but the supervisor was not on scene.
The police were called by a 7-Eleven clerk after Snider was arguing with another man. Snider, a convicted felon, was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
Related stories:
- 5 police shootings in last 6 weeks as suspect is shot near UNM
- APD identifies suspect killed by officers on Sunday
- APD: Man killed in officer-involved shooting had a hammer
3/16/14: Detective Keith Sandy and officer Dominique Perez shoot and kill James Boyd
Location: Copper and Tramway
Detective Keith Sandy and officer Dominique Perez shot 36-year-old James Boyd after APD responded to the Copper Trailhead after receiving reports of an illegal camper in the Sandia foothills.
A helmet camera video released by APD after the shooting shows Boyd attempting to comply with officers orders to come down from his location, and attempting to convince officers he is not a threat, before they fired a flash grenade at him. After the grenade explosion, an officer with a dog and an officer with an assault rifle rush Boyd while screaming at him to get down. Boyd appears to pull out small knives in both hands as the officer with a dog approaches him. Officers then fire six live rounds at Boyd as he turns away from officers.
At a press conference five days after the shooting, Chief Gorden Eden told reporters that he believed the shooting was justified because Boyd made a “threatening” move towards the officer with the dog.
Although the shooting was not included in the Department of Justice’s investigation into APD, during the announcement of their findings, the DOJ cited the shooting, and Eden’s comments about it, as evidence of the systemic problems at APD.
On January 12, 2015, Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg filed paperwork charging Sandy and Perez each with an open count of murder in the Boyd shooting.
The FBI is investigating the shooting.
Related stories:
- Albuquerque police shoot at foothills camper
- APD releases names of officers involved in fatal foothills standoff
- State Police fired APD officer in foothills shooting in 2007
- APD still quiet on fatal confrontation in foothills
- APD video: Shots ring out as camper turns away
- Mayor calls APD shooting ‘horrific … unsettling’
- Hundreds protest police shooting of homeless man
- Internet group ‘Anonymous’ threatens cyberattack on APD
- Impact on city’s image concerns leaders
- Mourners pay respects to James Boyd at candlelight vigil
- Funeral held for James Boyd
3/25/14: Officer James Eichel shoots and kills Alfred Redwine
Location: 228 60th Street NW
Officer James Eichel shot and killed 30-year-old Alfred Redwine after police said Redwine shot at least one shot while standing outside of his apartment near 60th Street and Central. Police were called to the scene after a 14-year-old girl said Redwine pointed a gun at her.
Police officers were called to the scene after receiving a 911 call from a sobbing girl who said, “There’s a guy and he’s drunk and he has a gun. He pointed the gun at me.”
The man, later identified as Alfred Redwine, was shot by police after they said he fired at least one round when he came out of his apartment and an officer returned fire.
Neighbors who saw the shooting say they saw Redwine holding a gun to his head, but never pointing it or shooting at officers. They said officers shot him without giving him a chance to surrender.
According to KKOB, one witness said after Redwine held the gun to his head, he then pointed it at the ground and fired, and that’s when he was shot.
Redwine died at University of New Mexico Hospital.
Related stories:
- APD press conference details fatal shooting of Alfred Redwine
- APD offers details on latest officer-involved shooting
- Man shot by police had many run-ins with law
- More details emerge in two APD shootings
4/21/14: Officer Jeremy Dear shoots and kills Mary Hawkes
Location: Zuni and Wyoming
Officer Jeremy Dear shot and killed 19-year-old Mary Hawkes after a footchase outside of a trailer park in SE Albuquerque.
Police said that officers had seen Hawkes driving a stolen truck earlier and were attempting to locate and arrest her when the chase ensued.
Police said Dear shot Hawkes after she pointed a gun at Dear during the chase.
Related stories:
- Police shoot woman in foot chase
- APD chief: No lapel video available in fatal shooting of Mary Hawkes
- Mentor recalls a ‘great life’
- Hawkes family issues statement in wake of daughter’s death
- Man claiming to be fiance of woman killed by APD had pellet guns
- No video of Mary Hawkes shooting, APD says
5/3/14: Officer Daniel Hughes shoots and kills Armand Martin
Location: 10500 block of Coyote Canyon NW
SWAT team officer Daniel Hughes shot and killed 50-year-old Armand Martin after police said Martin threatened his wife and children with a gun.
Police said Martin fired into the neighborhood from his home, and came out of the house ‘actively shooting with two handguns’ before he was fatally shot
Related stories:
- Neighbors ID man killed in standoff
- APD: Man who died in standoff had mental health problems
- Wife believed that, at worst, her husband would get arrested
- Lapel videos from Martin shooting released
5/22/14: Officers Ryan Graves, Brian Fuchs shoot and kill Ralph Chavez
Location: 2nd Street NM and Interstate 40
Officers Ryan Graves and Brian Fuchs shot and killed Ralph Chavez after Chavez allegedly slashed the throat of man who was attempting to intervene in a fight Chavez was having with his girlfriend. Chavez was fighting with his girlfriend near Second Street and Interstate 40 when a homeless man intervened and was stabbed in the throat by Chavez. The victim ran to a nearby liquor store for help. Officers shot and killed Chavez after police said he aggressively moved toward the officers with a knife and was yelling for police to shoot him. The two Albuquerque police officers involved did not capture video of the shooting itself, but an audio recording by one of the officers and video captured by a sergeant as she arrived on the scene show part of the incident. Ryan Graves’ raincoat obscured his shoulder-mounted video, but he did capture audio of the shooting. Brian Fuchs failed to turn on his camera. Related stories:
- Armed man told officers, ‘Shoot me! Shoot me!’
- APD identifies officers involved in last week’s fatal shooting
- Officers gave ground to knife wielder before firing at him
- Autopsies: Men shot by APD were impaired
7/22/14: Officers Anthony Sedler, Ramon Ornelas shoot and kill Jeremy Robertson
Location: Eubank and Central
Officers Anthony Sedler and Ramon Ornelas fired two shots each, killing 33-year-old Jeremy Robertson, after Robertson reached into his waistband for a gun while running away from officers, according to Deputy Chief William Roseman.
The incident began when detectives were conducting surveillance on Robertson in a trailer park near Eubank and Central. Agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms asked APD for help in capturing Robertson, who they believed was illegally in possession of a gun. Robertson was also wanted on parole violations stemming from stolen vehicle charges.
When ATF and APD detectives located Robertson at the trailer park, they called SWAT officers for support, Roseman said.
Police were monitoring Robertson when he drove a stolen, white van to a nearby gas station. Surveillance video released by police shows him walking in and out of the building.
When Robertston fled, undercover detectives ran after him. According to Roseman, SWAT team officers Sedler and Ornelas, who knew Robertson was armed, yelled for him to drop the gun, and then fired two shots each, killing him.
Robertson’s Ruger handgun was found about 12 feet from his body, Roseman said.
Both Sedler and Ornelas have shot and killed men in the last four years while working for APD’s SWAT team. Between them, they have shot and killed four people since 2010.
The shooting is Sedler’s third and Ornelas’ second. Sedler has been with SWAT for six years. Ornelas has been in the team for eight years.
In January, Detective Russell Carter shot at a car Robertson was driving as Robertson was attempting to flee from detectives who were trying to arrest him in a Walgreen’s parking lot in Rio Rancho. Robertson was not hit. (Read more about that shooting)
Related stories:
Non-Fatal Shootings
1/29/10: Officer Sean Wallace shoots Wayne Cordova
Location: 8100 Connecticut NE
Wayne Cordova, 22, was standing on an northeast Albuquerque rooftop unarmed, crying and asking to be killed when he was shot by officer Sean Wallace, according to police.
Cordova was suspected of fleeing from police after allegedly stealing a car.
Police said they believed Cordova had a gun, but Wallace later testified that he never saw one before he fired the single shot that killed Cordova.
The shooting was Wallace’s second while in the line of duty, the first occurring while he was a State Police officer.
Wallace later fatally shot another man, bringing his total number of shootings to three, two of which were fatal. All of them men shot by Wallace have been unarmed.
A Bernalillo County grand jury later cleared Wallace of any wrongdoing in the shooting of Cordova.
Related stories:
- Man Shot by Police Has Lengthy Arrest Record
- Shooting Was Police Officer’s Third
- Grand Jury: Police Shooting Justified
- Lawsuit Targets APD Hiring
3/4/10: Officer Roger Legendre shoots at Jose Castillo
Location: 3500 Sequoia Ct NE
Officer Roger Legendre fired a single shot that missed unarmed Jose Castillo and other occupants of a brown car after they fled from the Giant gas station at Coors and Quail after they allegedly stole beer, according to police.
Police said an officer was unable to detain the three suspects in the car — Tanya Martinez, Jose Castillo and Raymond Carillo — in the gas station parking lot, and they led police on a chase through Albuquerque’s west side according to the complaint. At one point Castillo, who police say was driving for much of the incident, drove near a plain-clothes detective who had been following the car, according to the complaint. The detective fired once at the car as it passed, according to the complaint.
It does not appear that Castillo, Martinez or Carillo were armed when they were shot at. It was the department’s fourth officer-involved shooting of the year, and police later identified the officer who fired as Robert Legendre.
Castillo then continued onto I-40 where the car began smoking, according to the complaint, and another officer tried to pull him over. Castillo and Martinez jumped out of the car and ran through the interstate’s traffic to escape, according to police.
Officers tracked down Martinez, the owner of the car, a few days later and she gave police a description of Castillo, according to the complaint.
Castillo was booked into county jail and faces charges of aggravated assault on a peace officer, among others, according to the complaint.
Related stories:
4/14/10: Detective Zach Stephenson shoots Benjamin Marquez
Location: 2100 Broadway SE
Detective Zach Stephenson shot 18-year-old Benjamin Marquez after Marquez refused to drop a weapon during a foot chase that began when officers approached the men Marquez was with and told them to put out a cigarette while pumping gas, according to police.
The incident began at a convenience store on the northeast corner of Gibson and Broadway boulevards SE when a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy approached two men who appeared to be involved in a drug deal, police said.
The men, who were seen in a silver Jaguar, got “a little animated” after the deputy told them to put out a cigarette because it was a danger while pumping gas, according to police.
An APD undercover detective who happened to be driving by stopped to assist the deputy. Shortly after, Marquez took off running west on Gibson across Broadway, police said.
The detective chased Marquez into a fourplex apartment building.
Marquez then showed a gun and refused to put it down, police said. He turned around and pointed it at Stephenson, who shot him three or four times in the upper body.
Marquez had been arrested at least nine times, police said.
A federal lawsuit, filed in April 2013, stemmed from this case after APD’s SWAT team allegedly detained neighbors who had driven Marquez earlier in the day with no cause.
In January 2014, the city settled the unlawful detention lawsuit for $150,000.
Related stories:
- Albuquerque Police Say Officer Shot Man Who Pulled a Gun
- Suspect in Critical Condition
- Man Shot By Police in Serious Condition, Faces Charges
- APD Shootings Escalate; Eight So Far This Year
- APD settles for $150K in ‘secret’ arrest
9/14/10: Officer Leah Kelly shoots Chandler Barr
Location: 2nd and Central
Chandler Barr, a 19-year-old from Oklahoma who was diagnosed as bipolar, was shot by APD officer Leah Kelly after he allegedly threatened her with a “kitchen-style” knife similar to a butter knife, according to police.
After Barr called police from the greyhound station threatening suicide he was taken to UNM’s mental health facility where he stayed three days. When he was released, he went to the Greyhound station to go back to Oklahoma but became upset and cut his wrists with a knife before leaving the station, according to police.
Officer Leah Kelly, who had been on the force for four years, intercepted Barr, whose wrists were bleeding, at 2nd and Central where police say he threatened the officer with a “kitchen-style knife” similar to a butter knife.
Kelly shot him twice around 8:15 a.m., striking him in the upper chest.
Barr’s foster mother said the teenager had been in and out of foster care his whole life.
Barr sued Kelly, the police chief and the city for civil rights violations in October 2012; the lawsuit is ongoing.
Kelly was cleared of wrongdoing in the shooting by the District Attorney’s office, and did not face any discipline from the department.
Barr, who survived, was initially charged with battery against a police officer, but those charges were later dropped.
Related stories:
- Officers Confront Man With Knife in Downtown ABQ
- Man Shot, Wounded Tuesday by ABQ Police Officer Had `Kitchen-Style Knife’
- Man Shot by ABQ Police Officer in Stable Condition
- Letter from plaintiff’s attorney regarding APD shooting
- DA rules two APD shootings as ‘justified
- Officer Cleared in Nonfatal Shooting
11/11/10: Officer Brian Pitzer shoots Russell Tenorio
Location: 1400 Alamo SE
Officer Brian Pitzer shot Russell Tenorio after Tenorio’s sister-in-law called police to say that Tenorio, who is mentally disabled, was threatening to harm himself with a 3-inch paring knife after drinking.
It’s a call that Tenori’s sister-in-law, Hilda Valdez, now regrets.
Officer Brian Pitzer can be heard on saying he’s “going lethal” before heading into the home with three other officers, who were armed with a beanbag shotgun and a Taser.
Pitzer shot Russell Tenorio, who lost a kidney and part of his intestines in surgery.
Immediately after the bullet struck Tenorio, he was Tasered by officer Doug Moore.
Tenorio faced numerous charges when he was released from the hospital, including battery on a police officer, but they were later dropped.
Pitzer did not face charges for the incident; he later said that it was the most “fearful” moment of his life.
Valdez, who called for help, and two more family members were detained for hours in the back of squad cars, and their requests to use the bathroom and for an inhaler were denied.
Valdez and the other family members sued the city in federal court for civil rights violations including unlawful detention. Without admitting liability, the city settled the case for $275,000.
Related stories:
- Police Shoot, Taser Knife-Wielding Man
- Man Shot by Police Is Stable
- Panel: Officer was justified in 2010 shooting
- DA rules two APD shootings as ‘justified’
- Shooting Of Mentally Disabled Man Spurs Lawsuit
6/26/11: Officer Damian Lujan shoots Orlando Paisano
Location: Bell Avenue and Dallas Street
Officer Damian Lujan shot Orlando Paisano after he approached officers with a 15-inch bayonet or machete and failed to stop after being hit repeatedly with a Taser, according to police.
The shooting came soon after the findings of an independent study were released, which suggested that less forceful methods be used. Police had agreed to follow it. At the time, police said they didn’t know why the Tasers hadn’t stopped Paisano.
Paisano later called for a Department of Justice investigation into the department.
Related stories:
- APD Reports Police Shooting
- Man Shot by APD in Critical Condition
- Suspect Shot By Police Upgraded to Stable Condition
- City To Pay Family $950,000 In Officer-Involved Shooting
- Fourth Police Shooting Of Year
4/19/12: Detective Mike Hill shoots Dennis Aragon
Location: 400 Española SE
Detective Mike Hill shot 42-year-old Dennis Aragon twice in the stomach and once in the left forearm after Hill raised a rifle towards Hill as he was responding to a possible assault call at a southeast Heights apartment complex, according to police.
Hill was looking for a fugitive in the International District when he decided to respond to a possible aggravated assault call nearby, in which someone was possibly threatening other tenants in the apartment complex.
When Hill arrived, he saw Dennis Aragon with a rifle butt under his arm that he tucked into his clothing when a police helicopter arrived.
Hill then decided it was time to contact Aragon, and stepped out of his car with his gun, at which point Hill said his lapel camera fell off.
Aragon’s partner immediately obeyed Hill’s commands, but Aragon started to raise the rifle to his shoulder. Hill shot once and said Aragon didn’t stop, so he shot two more times, striking Aragon in the stomach and forearm.
Aragon was charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, aggravated assault and resisting arrest; the legal proceedings are ongoing.
Aragon, who has an extensive criminal record that includes 23 arrests, was being sought by probation officers when he was shot.
Aragon, a gang member, has been convicted of several felonies, including possession of a controlled substance and aggravated battery, and has violated probation several times.
The District Attorney’s Office in July 2013 declined to press charges against Hill.
Related stories:
- Drug Dispute Led to Police Shooting
- Man Shot By Police Had 23 Arrests
- Fourth Police Shooting Of Year
- APD Disputes District Attorney On Report Time
- APD cop won’t face charges in shooting
6/20/12: Officer Drew Bader shoots at Santiago Chavez
Location: 400 67th Street SW
Santiago Chavez, 20, shot and killed himself after a 15-hour SWAT situation at his grandmother’s South Valley home during which Chavez shot at officers and APD officers fired bullets and tear gas at Chavez.
A resident first reported that Chavez had kicked over a trash can, thrown a rock at a car and was near the home with a gun. When police arrived, Chavez barricaded himself inside the home and threatened suicide, and fired at officers at least once.
APD SWAT team member Drew Bader fired at least 8 shots into the home before police say Chavez shot himself. Bader was demoted from SWAT team leader because during the standoff, he made comments implying team members should be able to use more force against Chavez.
During the lapel video that shows the comments, Bader smiles when he hears the situation may be escalating.
In the aftermath of the incident, city officials claimed the owner of the home had no relation to the suspect, when in fact she was his biological grandmother.
The city’s Safe City Strike Force later gave Chavez’s grandmother 30 days to fix extensive damage done to her home or a lien would be placed against the property.
All three doors had been pulled off and replaced with boards, every window was broken out, dozens of large holes appeared on the interior and exterior walls, and the home reeked of tear gas.
A large red notice was pasted to the side of the home saying: “Substandard building. Do not enter. Unsafe to occupy.”
Attorney Kari Morrisey was representing the Chavez in issues relating to the shooting, but she didn’t immediately file suit.
Related stories:
- SWAT Situation in SW Albuquerque
- SW ABQ SWAT Suspect Is Dead
- Police Shootout Preceded Suicide
- Homeowner Was Dead Man’s Kin
- Mobile Camera Will Back Up APD Officers
- Video Captures SWAT Frustration
- Feds hold meeting about APD
- APD promoting commander to deputy chief
- Family Ordered To Fix SWAT Shootout Damage
8/6/12: Sgt. Jason Peck shoots Dominick Solis-Mora
Location: Coors and Iliff
Sgt. Jason Peck shot and wounded 20-year-old Dominick Solis-Mora during an undercover drug sting near a Furr’s Fresh Buffet restaurant after Solis-Mora pointed a gun at officers, according to police.
Solis-Mora pulled a gun from under his thighs when he saw police advancing, and one gunshot can be heard on a lapel camera video.
Police had targeted the area at Coors and Iliff due to reportedly increased drug activity, and an undercover agent allegedly purchased $240 of heroin from Solis-Mora.
Police then approached while the undercover detective was still in the car, and Solis-Mora was pointing a gun toward them when Peck shot him once in the chest.
Solis-Mora was taken to UNMH in critical condition.
Also arrested were Marco Holguin, 21, and Michael Chavez, 32, who were waiting in a sedan in case anything went wrong.
Police found a 9-millimeter handgun, money, scales and large quantities of drugs – including methamphetamines and heroin – in the sedan.
All three suspects had been staying in a room at a nearby Motel 6, and investigators recovered a stolen handgun in the suspects’ room.
Solis-Mora was a gang member who had been arrested nine times since turning 18 two years before the incident, police said.
The district attorney’s office ruled in May 2013 that no charges should be pursued against Peck for the shooting.
Related stories:
- Names Released in Officer-Involved Shooting
- Man Shot During Police Drug Bust
- APD: 2nd Car Involved in Drug Deal
10/28/13: Officer Brian Pitzer shoots Joaquin Ortega
Location: Central and Washington
Officer Brian Pitzer shot at 32-year-old Joaquin Ortega around eight times as Ortega ran away and threw his gun in the air near Washington and Central after Ortega allegedly attempted to carjack a man and rob an elderly woman and her grandson at gunpoint, according to police.
Ortega had possibly combined prescription pills with alcohol when he went on a shooting spree near Nob Hill, crashed his car into a light pole and robbed an elderly woman and grandson at gunpoint before trying to carjack another man.
Police have not said exactly how many times Pitzer shot at Ortega, but they did say Ortega didn’t point his gun at the officer.
Ortega was later booked into jail, where he is on a no bond hold facing charges of aggravated assault on a police officer and armed robbery, among other charges.
The shooting was Pitzer’s third in the line of duty.
In a previous shooting, Pitzer had said he was “going lethal” before shooting a man with a history of mental illness. That incident resulted in a $275,000 settlement for the family.
The city shelled out $60,000 of taxpayers money in another excessive force suit, where Pitzer was involved in a traffic stop where a man was repeatedly kicked after he had said he “surrendered.”
Related stories:
- APD investigation shuts down East Central Ave.
- APD identifies carjacking suspect shot by officer
- Man shot by police had a long criminal history
- APD chief: Carjacking suspect didn’t point gun at officer
- Monday’s shooting was APD officer’s third
- 5 police shootings in last 6 weeks as suspect is shot near UNM
- Albuquerque police postpone briefing on ‘recent events’
- Woman says APD violated witness policy
- APD assault case settled for $60,000
11/15/13: Officer Peter Romero shoots Robert Garcia Sr.
Location: 4400 Montgomery NE
Officer Peter Romero shot 64-year-old Robert Garcia Sr. once in the torso after Garcia pointed what police later learned was a pellet gun at Romero during an early-morning DUI stop, according to police.
Robert Garcia, Sr., 64, had a note tucked into his wallet that said “Thank you officer” when he approached APD officer Peter Romero during the traffic stop at Montgomery and Washington on Nov. 15, 2013.
Garcia had been pulled over on suspicion of drunken driving when he walked toward Romero pointing a pellet gun that resembled a real handgun, police said.
Romero told Garcia to drop the weapon at up to nine times, to which Garcia did not respond, according to police.
Garcia was rushed to the hospital in critical condition after he was shot once in the abdomen, and was released and booked into jail on Dec. 2, 2013, on charges of aggravated assault on a police officer with a deadly weapon.
Police said Garcia later apologized to Romero for putting him in the position where he felt he had to shoot.
Garcia’s bond was set at $15,000
Related stories:
- APD officer shoots man after DUI stop
- APD officer involved in shooting ID’d
- 5 police shootings in last 6 weeks as suspect is shot near UNM
- Chief says man wanted to commit suicide by cop
- APD releases video of shooting by officer
12/1/13: Officers Luke McPeek, David Munoz, Jim Edison shoot Shaine Sherrill
Location: 4400 Montgomery NE
Officers Luke McPeek, David Muñoz and Jim Edison all fired their guns at 34-year-old Shaine Sherrill, who police say was holding a brake pad and/or a knife, at Wyoming and Northeastern after responding to a disturbance call.
Sherrill was rushed to the hospital in critical condition.
Police have not yet said how many times Sherrill was hit or which officers’ bullets hit him, but his mother, who has been critical of the shooting, said he had at least seven gunshot wounds.
Police said Sherrill was “simulating” a gun with the brake pad and knife.
Police found Sherrill in the Northeast Heights after his girlfriend called police because he slammed his backpack into her car.
Sherrill, a convicted felon who allegedly had told police he wanted to be shot by them about a year earlier, suffered severe injuries from the gunfire, including a shattered arm and leg, a collapsed lung and broken ribs. His spleen was also removed.
His mother said she will pursue legal action, but has not yet officially filed a suit.
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- Police-involved shooting Sunday afternoon; suspect hospitalized
- APD officers shoot suspect
- Mom of man shot by police seeks info
- Interim Chief: Suspect shot by APD officers didn’t have a gun
- Suspect shot by APD officers didn’t have gun
- Officer-involved shootings since Oct. 26
- Lawsuit: APD illegally denying shooting records
- APD releases video of Dec. shooting in Northeast Heights
1/9/14: Detective Russell Carter shots at Jeremy Robertson
Location: Southern Boulevard and NM 528, Rio Rancho
Detective Russell Carter shot at the tires of the car 33-year-old Jeremy Robertson was driving as he was attempting to flee from detectives who were trying to arrest him in a Walgreen’s parking lot in Rio Rancho.
According to police, Repeat Offender Program detectives were conducting surveillance on Robertson, who had at least two felony warrants dealing with property crimes out for his arrest.
The detectives said they followed Robertson from Albuquerque to Rio Rancho, and then called for assistance from Rio Rancho police.
Detectives said that when they approached Robertson to arrest him at the Walgreen’s at Southern Boulevard and NM 528., Robertson ran across the parking lot and got into the silver sedan he had been driving.
As Robertson was fleeing from the parking lot, he crashed into a Rio Rancho police car, and Carter shot at his tires in an attempt to stop him, according to police.
Robertson led officers on a chase before crashing about a mile-and-a-half away.
Related stories:
Excessive Force Cases
2/13/11: Officers John Doyle, Robert Woolever repeatedly kick Nicholas Blume
Location: Marble and Louisiana NE
John Doyle and Robert Woolever were captured on surveillance video from the parking garage of the Northeast Heights Hotel Barcelona chasing down and tackling Nicholas Blume, then 32, as he fled from them on foot. In the video, Woolever is seen holding Blume down as Doyle kicks him more than a dozen times.
Doyle said in a report that he kicked Blume because he feared the suspect had a gun, so he didn’t want to encumber his hands by grappling with Blume. Blume did not have a gun on him at the time of an arrest, but a handgun was later found in the suspect’s truck.
Blume, who had a long criminal history, was charged with auto theft, receiving a stolen firearm, being a felon in possession of a firearm and resisting arrest in connection with the incident. Those charges were later dropped.
In the aftermath of the shooting, former APD Area Commander Murray Conrad, now retired, said officer John Doyle was “completely justified” in kicking the fleeing suspect and that the officer “saved his life by not shooting him.”
Conrad also said that the day before the incident he had told his officers that Blume had killed a Colorado police officer. The information, which originated from APD’s gang unit, was later determined to be false. Conrad said the gang unit advised officers that if they encountered Blume, “You’re probably going to have to shoot him.”
Doyle and Woolever were fired nine months after the arrest. Then-APD chief Ray Schultz said the pair violated several standard-operating procedures, including those regarding truthfulness and force. Also, Woolever was negligent by not preventing Doyle from using excessive force, the former chief said in November 2011.
Both officers are appealing their firings.
In February 2014, Nicholas Blume filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Doyle and Woolever. The suit is ongoing.
A day after filing the lawsuit, Blume was arrested for being a felon in possession of a firearm.
Related stories:
- Video Shows Cop Kicked Suspect
- Did APD Cop Use Excessive Force?
- Police Officers in Beating Video Fired
- APD Chief Gives Reasons For Firings
- Boss Had Told Cops Suspect Dangerous
- APD Used Noose As Unit’s Icon
- Did Aryans Target APD?
- FBI Gets Excessive Force Case File
- Official: Cop’s Force Not Justified
- DOJ: ‘We Will Leave No Stone Unturned’
- Ex-APD officers face federal suit
- Man arrested day after suing ex-APD officers
5/31/12: Officer Connor Rice stuns Kenny Box, hits Dion Alexander multiple times
Location: 7900 block of Marquette NE
Connor Rice jumped onto the back of a suspect who had fled a Northeast Heights apartment hitting him with either his hand or fist several times – all while a fellow officer pinned the suspect’s face to the ground with his boot.
When the suspect screamed, “I surrender,” Rice said, “Oh, you surrender, huh?” He then struck him several times, according to the video.
Rice had been with APD six years.
Related stories:
- 30-minute lapel camera video released by APD
- Video: APD Chief: “I am very disappointed and angry”
- Union Critical of APD Inquiry
- Tasering Started With Few Grams Of Drugs, Gear
- Tasering Fallout Growing at APD
- 2 of 3 Officers Off Hook in Tasering
- APD officer dismissed
- Trial opens for former cop
- Jury to get cop excessive force case
- Ex-APD officer not guilty in assault case
