Albuquerque police detail close-quarters shootout that left man dead, officer injured

The SWAT team was entering an Albuquerque apartment window last month when a man popped out of a closet — surprising them — and opened fire, shooting one officer before being killed in a hail of bullets.

Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock of the Albuquerque Police Department’s Investigative Enhancement Division said on July 20, officer Zachary Herbst and a New Mexico State Police officer killed Emmanuel Campos, 20, after Campos shot officer John Holler, a member of APD’s SWAT team.

He said Herbst has been with APD since 2014 and has not been involved in any prior police shootings.

Officer Ray Wilson, with New Mexico State Police, identified the other officer who shot Campos as James Jeantet. Wilson said Jeantet has been with State Police for four and a half years and not involved in any prior shootings.

APD Chief Harold Medina said, during a Tuesday briefing releasing details about the shooting, that Holler has since returned to duty, but “we’re very fortunate that we did not have an officer killed.”

Hartsock said Santa Fe police asked APD for help in finding Campos, who had a warrant out for his arrest in a shooting. He said Campos was also a suspect in a homicide in Downtown Albuquerque but would not elaborate on the case.

He said police tracked Campos to The Ridge apartment complex near Tramway and Copper NE. He said two other people left the apartment at officers’ request but told police a 2-year-old child was inside with Campos.

Hartsock said crisis negotiators reached Campos on the phone, but he denied being in the apartment and soon stopped responding. He said the SWAT team decided to make entry into the apartment to rescue the child.

Lapel video showed that Holler, surrounded by Herbst and other officers, tried to climb into a broken window by grabbing onto a closet door.

Hartsock said, unbeknownst to police, that’s where Campos was hiding.

Lapel video shows gunfire erupted, and Holler fell as Herbst and the Jeantet unloaded 15 rounds to Campos’ four, a few bullets striking a shield Herbst was holding.

Video shows another officer grabbed Holler and took him to a tactical vehicle in the parking lot, where he put a tourniquet on his arm. Officers were seen going into the home after the shooting and finding the child, unharmed, in a bath tub.

Hartsock said the gun Campos used was not reported stolen and police are investigating where it came from.

OIS: Police detail shooting