Family sues Bernalillo County over fatal shooting

Brian Padilla was suffering from a mental health crisis the night of March 6, believing that people and objects were attempting to hurt him. Padilla, 35, began talking to a tree near his home that he thought was a person as he walked around his neighborhood.

Fearful for his safety, Padilla's family called 911 and asked the dispatcher to send a deputy with the Bernalillo County Sheriff's Office. Deputy Jeremy Ruckman arrived to assist as Padilla, who was holding a knife in his hands, walked toward the deputy. 

It wasn't the first time Padilla had made contact with BCSO, but it would be the last. Just a few seconds after exiting his patrol vehicle, Ruckman shot Padilla multiple times, ultimately killing him as Padilla's father pleaded with the deputy to call an ambulance. 

Padilla died in the hospital sometime later.

A lawsuit was filed in 2nd Judicial District Court by Padilla's family in early December against the county and BCSO, alleging that deputy Ruckman used unnecessary levels of force and did not provide Padilla with the proper mental health resources before firing his weapon.

The family is requesting "a reasonable award of compensatory and punitive damages, including interest and attorney fees, and such other relief as the court deems just," the lawsuit states.

"The complaint describes a story painfully familiar to the Albuquerque community: the family of someone experiencing an acute episode of mental illness calls the police for assistance, and police respond by unnecessarily deploying deadly force against that person," states a news release sent from the family's attorney.

The lawsuit states that Ruckman never properly identified himself as a police officer and did not have the vehicle's blue and red lights on. Padilla approached Ruckman and "briefly raised his hands above his head before lowering them to his sides again," the suit alleges. 

"Because it was dark when Ruckman arrived on the Padilla's street, it was not immediately apparent that he was a police officer," the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also alleges that other deputies were on their way to assist Padilla and that Ruckman was aware and still fired shots.

Beyond the allegations in the lawsuit, the Padilla family said they had requested that Bernalillo County notify them before sending out any news releases on the shooting. However, on April 30, 2025, BCSO "produced an elaborate press conference seeking to spin public perception of Brian’s killing in their favor," the release states. 

During the press conference, BCSO showed lapel footage of the confrontation between Ruckman and Padilla, including the moment Padilla was fatally shot in his Foothills neighborhood.

"Why couldn't they have done just the common courtesy of saying, 'We're going to do this'," said Ray Padilla, father to Padilla and a plaintiff in the case.

"On the night that it occurred, I was told that the whole aim for this process was transparency," he said. "Well, to me, that's a total lack of transparency as far as the family is concerned."

Brittany Williams, Padilla's sister, said she felt as though BCSO lacked empathy and decency by not responding to the family's request and that her family simply asked for a heads-up so they could prepare to watch or avoid the conference and the videos that followed.

"I just don't see how there's any excuse for it and, honestly, it's something that no one should have to go through … especially when it's easily avoidable and completely unnecessary," she said.

Before the shooting in March, BCSO had made contact with Padilla on various occasions, all relating to mental health episodes. 

Two days before his death, Padilla called 911 on himself after he told a dispatcher there were two people with "invisibility suits on" in his house that he could not see, the lawsuit alleges. A mobile crisis team with BCSO arrived and took Padilla to a pharmacy to refill his medication, which had run out. 

A month before that, Padilla called 911 and said he was "going on a spaceship and that his dog had killed a person," according to the lawsuit. He was admitted to a hospital for a week after the call. 

BCSO said they had offered help to Padilla's family on multiple occasions, but they were turned down. Padilla's family, however, said the calls were very brief and generalized, with BCSO asking how Padilla was doing.

Padilla's family said he was a very gifted man who wanted to get a degree in psychology and become a counselor for people suffering from alcohol and drug addiction. His sister said he was her "built-in best friend" who had an altruistic nature and was a gentle man. 

Losing him, she said, was a shock unlike any other.

"There's a part of me that's shattered for the rest of my life," Williams said. "There is a big part that will never be the same and his absence is far greater than I could ever have explained or expressed to anyone."

Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857. 

Matthew Reisen contributed to this story. He is the editor of the News Desk for the Albuquerque Journal. Follow him on Twitter at @MReisen88, call him at 505-823-3563 or reach him via email at mreisen@abqjournal.com.