The police force of Albuquerque, New Mexico has been involved in a number of shooting incidents and has used other forms of force, many of these involving the use of SWAT teams. The city's police department was the subject of a Department of Justice Investigation in 2014 which found that the department "engages in a pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force, in violation of the Fourth Amendment".[1] The report also stated that the department suffered from "structural and systemic deficiencies-including insufficient oversight, inadequate training, and ineffective policies".
| Date | Officer name(s) | Suspect name(s) | Outcome | Notes | Officer Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 22, 2004 | Sean Wallace | Leo Lopez | Lopez killed | shot during traffic stop after officer feared vehicle threat during heroin investigation[2] | Acquitted | |
| Russell Carter | Jay Martin Murphy | Murphy killed |
| |||
| Brandon Carr | Roderick Jones | Jones killed | Carr fired 18 months later[3] | |||
| Andrew Cooke | Aaron Renfro | Renfro killed |
| Cooke cleared by grand jury[4] | ||
| Brett Lampiris-Tremba, Sean Wallace also present | Kenneth Ellis III[5] | Ellis killed | Ellis holding gun to his own head |
| ||
| Sean Wallace | Wayne Cordova | Cordova killed | Cordova suspected of fleeing after possibly stealing a car |
| ||
| Roger Legendre | Jose Castillo, Tanya Martinez, Raymond Carillo[8] | Castillo charged with assaulting a police officer | Police shot at car after beer shoplifting incident, Giant gas station, Coors, and Quail Castillo driving | Legendre was later promoted to sergeant[9] | ||
| Kevin Sanchez | Mickey Owings[10] | Owings killed | Sanchez shot at moving vehicle in Walmart parking lot, I-40 and Quail Pregnant female in Owings vehicle unharmed 40+ witnesses | |||
| Zach Stephenson | Benjamin Marquez | Marquez shot 3-4 times in upper body | Marquez smoking a cigarette while pumping gas at Broadway and Gibson | |||
| Eric Brown, Anthony Sedler | Chris Hinz Northeast Heights near Juan Tabo Boulevard and Spain Avenue | Hinz killed | Hinz intoxicated at home. Police said he was firing his weapon inside his home[13] | Sedler later shoots Parrish Dennison | ||
| Aaron Zwicky | Julian Calbert | Calbert killed |
| A grand jury found the shooting justified[15] | ||
| Jeremy Hollier, Anthony Glodon | Len Fuentes, a diagnosed schizophrenic, was reportedly unable to access treatment[16] | Fuentes killed 3400 block Crest SE | domestic violence call[17] | Hollier arrested in 2012 for felony domestic violence, still with APD[18] | ||
| Josh Brown | Enrique Carrasco | Carrasco shot at Montgomery and San Mateo after slashing his girlfriend's tires | Carrasco jumped on Brown's hood and repeatedly stabbed officer's driver-side window with a knife and broke it, then tried to open the door, said Public Safety Director Darren White | |||
| Leah Kelly | Chandler Barr | Barr hospitalized, survived being shot, 2nd and Central |
| Barr filed suit for $340,000 in medical bills and pain and suffering[19] A federal jury found no liability.[20] | ||
| Drew Bader, Ramon Ornelas | Daniel Gonzales | Tucumcari police asked NM State Police for help, State Police call in Albuquerque SWAT |
| Gonzales came to door with two rifles | APD SWAT officers cleared[22] | |
| David Sprague | Alexei Sinkevitch 6500 block of Tierra Prieta NW | Sinkevitch had rifle, and bled to death on floor of his home[23] | 911 reports of hit-and-runs on Estrella Brillante NW Callers took plate Police traced to Sinkevitch | |||
| Brian Pitzer, Doug Moore | Russell Tenorio 1400 block Alamo SE | Tenorio survived, in hospital 2½ months, lost a kidney. | Tenorio had fetal alcohol symptom, was threatening to hurt himself[24] | Pitzer announced he was "going lethal" before entering the home, resulted in a federal lawsuit[25] | ||
| Byron "Trey" Economidy (Detective) | Jacob Mitschelen | Mitschelen killed | traffic stop[26] | wrongful death lawsuit settled for $300,000 | ||
| Christopher J. Brown | Christopher Torres | Torres shot in his parents' back yard | father says police used a battering ram to enter the house even though he was present and offered to let them in[27] | Jury award over $10 million, later settled for $6 million[28] | ||
| Sean Wallace | Alan Gomez[29] | Gomez killed while holding spoon. Wrongful death suit settled in December 2013 for $900,000[30] | "the officer shot Gomez without verifying a threat, and after receiving information that Gomez could not have been a threat because he was no longer armed."[31] | Earlier wrongful death suit settled for $235,000. Wallace first shot a civilian on September 22, 2004, in Chimayó when he was an NMSP narcotics agent; tort claim notice filed late December 2004[32] Shot and killed second civilian January 29, 2010.[33] | ||
| Troy Nikko, William Thomas, Michael Oates[34] | Raymond Garcia | Garcia killed Lomas and Palomas[35] | Garcia caught carjacking, officers pinned his car in near a chainlink fence in front of Cross Country Auto Sales[36] | |||
| Damian Lujan | Orlando Paisano | Paisano tased, shot eight times, Bell and Dallas SE[37] | Paisano holding bayonet, police say | |||
| Jim Perdue | Michael Marquez | Marquez shot in field, 60th and Central | Michael Marquez an armed robbery suspect |
| ||
| Mario Perez | Mark Macoldowna, James Kellogg,[39] Kymberly Bates | Macoldowna killed, Bates and Kellogg arrested | ||||
| Martin Smith | Daniel Tillison Marquette and Texas | Tillison killed | wrongful death lawsuit alleges Smith was diagnosed with PTSD and APD knew of it[40] | DA found no probable cause for charges[41] | ||
| Russ Carter | Gary Atencio | Atencio shot on Laguna Pueblo after pursuit | Carter's 3rd shooting[42] | wrongful death lawsuit dismissed[43] | ||
| Mike Hill | Dennis Aragon | Aragon shot three times but was expected to survive | police say Aragon fired shots in the air then pointed rifle at police | |||
| Jason Peck (APD sgt) | Dominick Solis-Mora[44] | Solis-Mora shot in stomach then recovered | Solis-Mora said to sell $240 worth of meth to undercover Peck | DA and APD Internal Affairs clear Peck of wrongdoing Solis-Mara subsequently involved a number of other criminal incidents | ||
| Perdue, Sedler and Aragon | Parrish Dennison | Dennison killed Menaul and Louisiana | Dennison driver of woman trying to sell stolen banjo[45] | Sedler had previously shot Chris Hinz Sedler cleared of wrongdoing[46] | ||
| APD | Kendall Carroll 13000 block Constitution | killed by State Police, APD also fired | Carroll had previously shot and wounded a police officer[47] | |||
| Jeff Bludworth, Katherine Wright | Vincent Wood | convenience store Montgomery and San Mateo | previously transported to mental health facility | Shooting ruled justified Wrongful death lawsuit settled for $55,000[48] | ||
| Officer Luke McPeek and others | Christopher Chase[49] | Chase killed | Chase had "cop killer" tattooed on his knuckles[50] | award ceremony[51] | ||
| Brian Pitzer | Joaquin Ortega shot Jefferson and Central[52] | Ortega hospitalized then jailed on charges of robbery and carjacking | Prosecutors found no probable cause to charge Pitzer[53] Pitzer involved in two prior shootings, neither fatal[54] | |||
| Peter Romero | Robert Garcia Sr. | Garcia shot but survived, received 3-year sentence Traffic stop, San Mateo Carlisle | Garcia had rifle, had been drinking Later admitted he was attempting suicide by cop | Garcia apologized to Romero | ||
| Luke McPeek, David Munoz and Jim Edison | Shane Sherrill | Sherrill had felony warrants, holding brake pad | No charges filed against police[55] | |||
| Hector Marquez, Nathan Cadroy-Croteau | Andy Snider | Snider killed | Snider said to charge officers with hammer[56] | Wrongful death lawsuit filed 2015[57] Both officers still on active duty | ||
| Russell Carter (Detective, Sedler and Ornelas also present | Jeremy Robertson's tires, Walgreens in Rio Rancho | Robertson uninjured[58] Robertson charged with fleeing, assaulting officer/ | Robertson wanted for parole violations | Both Sedler and Ornelas on SWAT team Sedler's 2nd shooting, Ornelas' 3rd[59] | ||
| Keith Sandy (Detective), Officer Dominique Perez | James Boyd | Boyd killed | camping without a permit displaying knife to officers who tried to frisk him | Both charged with open count of murder | ||
| James Eichel | Alfred Redwine | Redwine killed | Redwine was upset because he had just lost custody of his 5-year-old son | |||
| Jeremy Dear | Mary Hawkes | Hawkes killed | Hawkes suspected of having been in a stolen car. Car's owner later told police Hawkes had dated his room-mate[60] | |||
| Daniel Hughes | Armand Martin | Martin killed in his Ventana Ranch home[64] | Martin suffered from depression, "just went crazy," wife said.[65] Martin ran out of his home while discharging his handgun. | DA and APD Internal Affairs clear Hughes of wrongdoing[66] | ||
| Ryan Graves, Brian Fuchs | Ralph Chavez | Chavez killed, 2nd at I-40 |
| DA declined to press charges[67] | ||
| Greg Brachle | Jacob Grant (APD detective)[68] | Friendly fire incident, Jacob was working undercover and the other cops thought that he was a criminal. The criminal complaint describes a meth purchase. Charges were filed against Damian Bailey and Edmond Vester for trafficking cocaine, and conspiracy to commit trafficking[69] | Officer Brachle's 2nd shooting Grant will need medical for the rest of his life, settled lawsuit for $6.5 million and medical expenses | police oversight board recommended firing but Brachle had already retired "APD said since that shooting, the department has improved supervision, training and equipment for undercover officers. In addition, it is now mandatory to attend all briefings before each operation.[70] [71] | ||
| unknown | Dennis Humphrey[72] | Humphrey shot in his garage Morningside and Goodrich | 911 call reported he was drunk and walking around outside his house with a rifle[73] | |||
| July 3, 2019 | One Albuquerque detective[74] | Unidentified man | Unidentified man killed in apparent shootout with detective | |||
| Paul Durham, Kyle King and Randy Serrano, accompanied by two other officers | Roger Schafer[75] | Schafer shot at a bus stop at Eubank and Copper NE | "Multiple 911 calls" reported Schafer was tossing a gun from hand to hand, "pulling the action back" and pointing the gun at traffic. It was a BB gun. | |||
| October 14, 2019 | APD and SWAT[76] | Daniel James Wood | Wood killed | |||
| October 25, 2019 | At least three officers[77] | Unidentified man | Unidentified man killed after confronted by officers accusing him of attempted carjacking | |||
| January 6, 2020 | Two Albuquerque detectives[78] | Orlando Abeyta[79] | Abeyta killed | |||
| March 30, 2020 | Joseph Bush, Edgar Sandoval[80] | Valente Acosta-Bustillos | Acosa-Bustillos killed | |||
| August 11, 2020 | Unknown APD officers | Ken Reiss | Reiss killed | Reiss had called 911 to report multiple people breaking into his house. When police arrived, they saw a man running in the alleyway. They say he shot at them. They fired multiple times according to neighbors. As Reiss lay screaming they shot four more times according to neighbors, then the screaming stopped.[81] According to body camera footage released by the police, Reiss was indeed holding a gun but the footage does not show him shooting at the police.-second police shooting resulting in death in less than 6 hours | ||
| August 28, 2022 | Dustin Ketchum, Marcos Flores, Kenneth Skeens | Keshawn Thomas | Thomas killed | Thomas had been sleeping in his vehicle which was parked at a gas station. A passer-by called for a welfare check, as the vehicle had not moved for several hours. APD officers made contact with Thomas, the sole occupant of the vehicle. They questioned Thomas, who was intoxicated, outside of his vehicle. During questioning Thomas mentioned to them he had a firearm in the vehicle. They allowed him to return to his vehicle in order to retrieve his cellphone. Officers claim that he then pointed a firearm at them, causing them to open fire on Thomas. Thomas was transported to a local trauma center where he later died.[82] [83] | The officers involved received verbal and written reprimands, Skeens was fired due to a matter unrelated to this case | |
| Date | Officer name(s) | Citizen name(s) | Outcome | Notes | Officer Outcome | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Zwicky | Patrick Dennison Coors and Central |
| Zwicky previously shot Julian Calbert in 2010 | |||
| Nicholas Leyba, Moon and Indian School | minor injuries, charged with kidnapping, criminal sexual penetration | |||||
| SWAT | Dustin Goodwin 1400 blk Pennsylvania | arrested |
| |||
| SWAT | Marquette and Pennsylvania | hospitalized with dog bites | charged with domestic violence, burglary while fleeing[85] | |||
| BCSO SWAT | Michael Quevedo, 800 block Dolly (off La Vega) | arrested | warrants, domestic violence, felon with firearm | SWAT because "info the detective had and his history"[86] | ||
| SWAT | 1800 block Hiawatha NE | arrested | 15-hour standoff, man hiding in television cabinet | domestic violence | ||
| monitor: officers kneed suspect in head, report does not match video | ||||||
| SWAT | Bell/Pennsylvania | arrested | search warrant, man refused to leave apartment | felony warrants | ||
| Andrew Quillman, Shawna Romero also present[89] | José Rodriguez,[90] Central/Utah | killed | attempted carjacking, could not drive shift[91] | |||
| APD and US Marshalls | Mario Montoya Central/Western Skies | Montoya's wife arrested for harboring a fugitive[92] | Montoya supposed to be at a halfway house | |||
| SWAT | Lomas/Juan Tabo | arrested | "man was not cooperating with officers' requests to come out of a vehicle"[93] | |||
| Rodney Locke[94] | Kay Moss-Freese, woman in wheelchair | Moss-Freese killed | Locke quit APD February 2016 | Locke arrested | ||
| Michael David Pacheco, Walgreens Coors/Central[95] | arrested | shots fired at Walgreens miss, Pacheco flees; officer-caused accident at 64th/Churchill |