murder charges, Albuquerque police officers

Two Albuquerque police officers are now facing murder charges as a result of an on duty shooting which killed a homeless camper and that ignited protests which have turned violent at times. The shooting has also started a federal investigation because of excessive force complaints against the Albuquerque police department. The incident which led up to the shooting is not in dispute, 38 year old James Boyd was holding two knives and caused a standoff with police that lasted hours. A helmet camera worn by an officer captured the shooting on tape, and the video seems to show Boyd surrendering when he was shot. Second District Attorney Kari Brandenburg has charged Keith Sandy, a former detective, and Dominique Perez, a SWAT team member, with one count of open murder each.

The open murder charges against the two Albuquerque police officers will allow the prosecutor to seek either first or second degree murder convictions against each of the officers involved. James Boyd had struggled with mental illness in the past. The results in this case are far different from recent police related deaths in Ferguson, Missouri and New York City, New York. In the previous cases the officers involved were not charged at all, causing protests around the country. Defense attorney Sam Bergman who is representing Sandy in this case told the media that “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.”