Two police officers were charged with murder in the March killing of a homeless camper, a shooting that generated sometimes violent protests around the southwestern city of Albuquerque and sparked a federal investigation into a police force that has been found to use excessive force.
The shooting occurred during a year when police tactics came under intense scrutiny around the U.S., fuelled by the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Mo., and the chokehold death of another unarmed man in New York City. Grand juries declined to charge officers in those cases, leading to protests.
Dominique Perez, a member of an elite police squad, and former detective Keith Sandy each face a single count of open murder in the death of James Boyd 38, Second District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said Monday. Open murder allows prosecutors to pursue either first-degree or second-degree murder charges.
Police said Perez and Sandy fatally shot Boyd, who was holding two knives, during an hours-long standoff in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Video from an officer's helmet camera showed Boyd, who authorities say had struggled with mental illness, appearing to surrender when officers opened fire.
Lawyer Sam Bregman, who is representing Sandy, told The Associated Press that the charge was "unjustified" and said Sandy did nothing wrong.
"Keith, as a police officer, had not only the right, but the duty to defend a fellow officer from a mentally unstable, violent man wielding two knives," Bregman said.
Luis Robles, an attorney for Perez, said he was "confident that the facts will vindicate officer Perez's actions in this case."
The FBI is investigating the Boyd shooting, but U.S. authorities have not said if the officers will face federal charges.
Albuquerque officials recently signed an agreement with the U.S. Justice Department to revamp its police agency after a harsh report over excessive force. Under the agreement, Albuquerque police must provide better training for officers and dismantle troubled units.
The Boyd shooting — and more than 40 other police shootings since 2010 — sparked a series of protests, including one that forced authorities to fire tear gas at violent demonstrators and another that shut down a city council meeting.
Brandenburg filed the counts via criminal information, which allows her to charge the officers without presenting evidence to a grand jury.
The criminal charges were the first Brandenburg has brought against officers in a shooting. She is in her fourth term as district attorney and is waging a fight with the Albuquerque Police Department over allegations that she committed bribery while intervening on behalf of her son in a burglary case.
Police believe she should be charged with bribery because they say she offered to pay a victim not to press charges. The attorney general's office is handling that matter.
