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State Police investigate Eddy County police shooting that left man injured
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New Mexico State Police is investigating a shooting by an Eddy County Sheriff’s Office deputy that wounded a man who had shot at deputies, the department said Monday.
Eddy County deputies were dispatched around 6 p.m. Sunday to McKittrick Road, in Carlsbad, after receiving a call that a man — later identified as Henley — was walking down the street with a rifle, according to a news release from State Police spokesperson Wilson Silver.
The caller told deputies the man started to run toward his car with the rifle in his hand while screaming and the caller told deputies he “thought he was going to die,” according to an affidavit filed in Carlsbad Magistrate Court.
Deputies arrived and saw 34-year-old Dustin Henley who allegedly shot “at least one round from a .22 caliber rifle” at deputies that hit a deputy vehicle as soon as they arrived, the affidavit states.
The deputy shot back at Henley multiple times and injured him, according to the affidavit. Henley dropped his weapon and tried to hide in nearby bushes, but he would not comply with deputies’ commands to show his hands.
A K-9 unit was deployed and the dog bit Henley in the hand. Henley was taken into custody and transported to a medical center for his injuries, the affidavit states.
Henley was arrested and charged with assault on a peace officer, shooting from a motor vehicle, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and felony possession of a firearm. He was arrested on Sunday and does not yet have an attorney.
In 2024, Henley was charged with resisting an officer, but the case was dismissed without prejudice after a court deemed him incompetent to stand trial, according to a dismissal filed in Carlsbad Magistrate Court.
