Albuquerque police officer had PTSD, was treated with ketamine prior to killing self in standoff

Dominic Castro — an Army and Air Force veteran and Albuquerque Police Department officer — was taking low doses of ketamine to treat his post-traumatic stress disorder prior to taking his family hostage and killing himself early last month, according to newly released police reports obtained by the Journal.

Castro, 48, shot himself at his home in Cedar Crest on Nov. 5 at the tail end of a lengthy standoff with Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputies who initially responded to a domestic violence call from Castro’s wife and child. In the 911 call, Castro's wife alleged that he had shackled her to him with handcuffs, beaten and raped her on multiple occasions and threatened to use a Taser on her and their child.

Police issued a warrant for Castro’s arrest on charges of kidnapping, rape, false imprisonment and child abuse, according to online court records. Charging documents in the case remain sealed.

Lawyers have filed a petition for appointment of a wrongful death personal representative, a legal request to name someone to manage a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the deceased's estate.

Castro's wife declined to comment on the story or the pending lawyer appointment. Brian Egolf, the petitioner for the appointment, was not available for comment.

Castro, who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after serving in the Army and Air Force as a firearms instructor and an artillery scout, according to police reports, had been receiving treatment at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) — taking small doses of ketamine for his PTSD. It is unclear in the reports how frequently Castro was taking the drug.

“Castro had various suicidal ideations and was believed to be experiencing an extreme mental crisis,” a police report stated. “(He) recently had been going through PTSD episodes, was currently on graveyard shifts with lack of sleep and on low doses of ketamine.”

The police reports, filed by Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office deputies, alleged that Castro had a history of PTSD. The reports did not specify when he was diagnosed and stated that he was "recently treated at the VA hospital with microdosing ketamine."

APD was not aware that Castro had been taking ketamine, according to spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.

A standard operating procedure document from APD shows that officers are required to advise their supervisor of any prescription and nonprescription drug use, particularly if the prescription requires the on or off-duty usage of a controlled substance, such as ketamine.

Raymond G. Murphy VA Medical Center is one of 26 veterans hospitals across the country that has adopted ketamine therapy for the treatment of PTSD, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA said treatments nationwide had shown 70% of patients showed a 50% a decrease in depression severity and more than half of patients had less suicide ideation after ketamine treatment.

The VA states it has seen an increase in veterans receiving the treatment since 2020 and, in 2024, the VA performed 1,505 ketamine treatments across the country. The VA states that veterans initial feedback was “uncertainty” about the therapy but, “After their first treatment, they verbalized that they felt a difference, and following their induction phase, they indicated it helped them revitalize.”

“This proactive approach aims to reduce suicidal thoughts and behaviors, ultimately preventing suicide among this population,” according to the VA.

Castro joined the department in July 2023 and served as a Field Services Bureau officer, a uniformed patrol officer who primarily responds to emergency calls during their shift, Gallegos said. Newer officers are often on the graveyard shift, something APD said they were trying to balance out after a trend emerged of rookie officers getting into more police shootings.

According to online court documents, Castro's most recent arrest was on Oct. 12, in which he had pulled over a woman for allegedly drinking and driving.

In the months before his death, Castro appeared to be most active in August. Of those arrests, Castro seemingly worked on the team doing homeless encampment sweeps. He issued multiple citations to people for unlawfully obstructing sidewalks, a charge typically received during encampment sweeps.

In June, Castro, along with three other APD officers, were named as defendants in a wrongful death lawsuit for Matthew “Solo” Garcia, who was fatally shot by police in Nov. 2024 as he and an officer struggled over a gun in the back of a police car.

Two of the officers’ actions were ruled out of policy. Castro received no disciplinary actions.

Castro's last shift was on Nov. 2, three days before he killed himself.

Standoff in the East Mountains

Hours before a SWAT team would find Castro’s body — he and his wife were in the drop-off line at their child’s school, according to the reports. Castro’s wife and child got out of the car and ran into the school, where his wife called 911 to report the alleged abuse she had been facing.

Meanwhile, Castro returned home.

In a petition for a restraining order, filed soon after the 911 call was made, Castro’s wife alleged that he attacked and threatened her and her child on multiple occasions over the past weeks.

The petition stated Castro had shackled himself to his wife to prevent her from leaving and held her hostage for two to three weeks.

She said that when the two were chained together, Castro would rape and beat her, sometimes in front of their child, according to the petition. Castro had also allegedly threatened to hurt his child if his wife, whom he believed was cheating on him, did not tell him the names of the men he believed she was having an affair with.

On one occasion, Castro pointed a Taser at his wife and child, a BCSO report states. Shortly after Castro’s wife spoke with deputies, a warrant was issued for Castro’s arrest — charging him with kidnapping, rape, child abuse, false imprisonment and lesser charges.

After the warrant was issued, around 5 p.m., BCSO deputies surrounded Castro’s home, tucked into the mountains along Pinon Trail in Cedar Crest. By then, the home was already being watched by the U.S. Marshals Service.

Concerned with Castro’s prior military experience combined with his understanding of police tactics and access to multiple weapons, BCSO called the SWAT team to assist in his arrest.

“Castro’s background significantly elevated the threat level,” a BCSO report states. “His access to weapons, tactical knowledge and expressed suicidal and homicidal ideations created an imminent risk to public safety and responding personnel.”

Just before deputies planned to enter Castro’s home, multiple fires were sparked inside, which were "intentionally set within,” according to the report. “... Castro made threats to burn the house and kill himself if contact with law enforcement was made.”

Smoke filled the home and the SWAT team was unable to search for Castro. A drone was deployed, but the smoke was too thick to see through and deputies had to break multiple windows of the home to allow the smoke to escape, according to a BCSO report.

After the smoke dissipated, the drone found a dead dog on the bottom floor of the home and deputies believe the dog died due to the heavy levels of smoke, the BCSO report states. Castro had three dogs in total. One was reclaimed by Castro's wife and the other was adopted.

Just after midnight, law enforcement eventually broke through the garage of the home and found Castro dead on the floor with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.