Video shows Albuquerque police killing homeless man

[mikesimon]

Albuquerque, New Mexico (CNN) -- Albuquerque police shot a homeless man in the back and killed him, and it was all caught on gruesome detail in a police video.

It is just one more in a long line of police killings that has the city's Police Department on the verge of federal oversight.

James Boyd, a mentally disturbed man who friends say was attempting to camp out in the foothills above Albuquerque one night in March because city homeless shelters had closed, was holding two small camping knives. Officers negotiated with him for five hours, eventually winning agreement from Boyd to leave the makeshift -- and illegal -- campsite.

Then a police stun grenade went off, Boyd, 38, turned his back and three shots were fired.

Police video shows Boyd on his stomach on the ground, wheezing for breath as officers sic a dog on his legs and fire bean bag rounds at him.

He was already mortally wounded. An autopsy on Boyd found he was shot in the back. The medical examiner ruled the death a homicide.

The horrific encounter, routinely recorded as part of police protocol, is now a key part of an ongoing drama in New Mexico's largest city -- a series of protests against the police and city officials. Federal officials are close to a deal that would have them supervising the Albuquerque Police Department.

Records show that 26 people have been killed by city police in Albuquerque since 2010, a per capita rate of officer-involved deaths higher than New York City and Chicago. Forty people have been wounded by police over the same period of time. So far, the city has paid out $30 million in settlements and officials acknowledge that amount will grow.

In a report written before Boyd's shooting, the U.S. Department of Justice blamed the Police Department for poor training and said "we find that the department engages in a pattern or practice of using excessive force during the course of arrests and other detentions in violation of the Fourth Amendment."

Boyd's death has been added to the list of questionable killings. In April 2011, a young Albuquerque man -- whose parents had contacted police because he had mental health issues -- was killed in his own backyard by two plainclothes police.

The officers had come to the home of Christopher Torres on an arrest warrant issued the month before. They said he was armed and shot him in the back as they wrestled on the ground.

Torres' parents, Stephen and Renatta Torres, say he was holding a broomstick, which he laid down when police approached. They sued police, and a judge awarded them $6 million in a civil judgment, saying the police testimony was "not credible."

The Albuquerque district attorney, Kari Brandenburg, cleared the two officers in the Torres killing. She has cleared every other police officer involved in a killing during her last 13 years in office.

Police Chief Gordon Eden has been on the job for only about three months. Initially, he called Boyd's shooting "justified" but tells CNN that he spoke "prematurely, and I shouldn't have."

Eden says he is "holding people to a higher degree of culpability," but he is also facing Justice Department oversight.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/20/us/albuquerque-police-investigation/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

[brice1967]

New Mexico is rumored to have some of the most corrupt cops/administrations around.  Tragic, especially if this is reported with any degree of accuracy.

[mikesimon]

Here is another link to the video of the shooting. I couldn't get the CNN link to play just now so I looked for another video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tpAZObNZfI

It doesn't look good for the police in my opinion. What's your take on it?

[brice1967]

Hopefully that is not a valid "news" outlet.  Those two where hacks.  Some of the terminology they used was atrocious. and the stuttering and stammering was painful to listen too.  But, with that said... I think they went too far.

The perceived threat was that he was armed with a knife or knives.  He was more or less complying at the time, and when you have 5 hours invested, why not take the extra few minutes and utilize all of your training?  

They screwed the pooch in my humble, day off, semi professional opinion.

[mikesimon]

Yeah, I didn't give you the link for the news team. I gave it to you for the shooting scene and that certainly looked bad - real bad.......in my opinion.

[brice1967]

Agreed....

[R Glass]

  The illegal camper shot by Albuquerque police this week was turning away from officers when they fired at him, according to video released by Chief Gorden Eden on Friday.
The shots come after a confrontation in which the man, identified as 38-year-old James Boyd, tells police he’s going to walk down the mountain with them.
“Don’t change up the agreement,” Boyd says. “I’m going to try to walk with you.”
He tells officers he’s not a murderer.
Boyd picks up his belongings and appears ready to walk down toward officers. An officer fires a flash-bang device, which disorients Boyd.
Boyd appears to pull out knives in both hands as an officer with a dog approaches him. He makes a threatening motion toward the officer, then starts to turn around away from police.
That’s when shots ring out, and Boyd hits the ground. Blood can be seen on the rocks behind him.
1 p.m.
Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said officers were justified in shooting a man they said was illegally camping in the Sandia foothills Sunday night because the man made a “threatening” move towards officers.
But significant questions remain, including what killed the man.
An APD spokeswoman cut  the news conference short, and Eden walked out while reporters were still asking questions. He did take a question during a brief interview with the Journal after the news conference.
At least one live round hit the man, but the Office of the Medical Investigator has not determined what killed the man, Eden said.
Eden said officers decided to use less-than-lethal force, including bean bag rounds, because the man picked up his backpack and said he was coming off the mountain.
Officers appeared to have the man surrounded, but Eden said they couldn’t wait him out because they couldn’t keep him contained within the perimeter due to the difficulty of the terrain.
Eden identified the man as James Boyd, 38. A 2008 police report released by Eden listed Boyd’s address as the county jail.
Eden said Boyd had a history of violence against law enforcement.
Below is a summary of Eden’s comments, as he made them.
– Chief Eden said APD has interviewed 40 witnesses so far, and that the suspect was sleeping as officers approached.
– The chief showed a video of the incident. It shows officers telling the man to show his hands. They demand repeatedly: “Put the knife down!”
– In the video, Boyd tells officers he’s been trying to contact APD for months. He talks almost non-stop. Officers keep their guns trained on him.
– Chief Eden said the suspect continued to rant after a crisis-intervention officer arrived. The suspect tells officers he’s an agent of the Department of Defense.
– Officers appear to fire less-than-lethal rounds, after which the man drops to ground with the knife still in his hand. They also fired live-rounds, but it’s not clear from the video which shots were live and which weren’t.
– The chief said the suspect is 38 years old and that he refused to follow directions.
– Chief Eden said the man was hit by a live round, but did not say that’s what killed him.
– Eden said the man made a threatening move toward an officer, and that’s what triggered the shooting. The shooting was justified, Eden said.
– Two officers fired shots, the chief says.
– A public information officer announces that the news conference is over. Eden continues taking a few questions before finally walking out as a Journal reporter continues to ask questions.
http://www.abqjournal.com/372376/abqnewsseeker/apd-releases-info-about-fatal-officer-involved-shooting.html

[mikesimon]

The video I watched doesn't suggest the cops were ever at risk. I don't know what you can say after watching the video.
Just a lot of nonsense...in my opinion.

[R Glass]

I’m not defending them by any means. I posted the link only because it gave both sides of the story. I agree, their lives were not in danger. He did have a history of assaulting LE, he was “mentally disturbed”, and he did have 2 knives but the video showed him turning away not lunging toward them when the first shot was fired. Even the Bean Bag shots in the end were excessive. He did still had 1 knife in his hand so I could understand 1 shot before approaching him but 3 shots then a dog?

[brice1967]

Actually, I think its a bit curious that the footage was released.  It really doesn't show the PD in the best light.  I just got done watching it again.  The guy looked as if he were complying... Yeah, he has a history of violence and yeah he was armed with knives... but if I were there, I'd have been a bit more cautious and would have went ahead and waited him out a bit longer.