Two Albuquerque police officers have been charged with murder in last year's fatal shooting of a homeless man in New Mexico, a death that sparked violent protests in the city and generated a federal investigation into the recent history of alleged excessive abuse by police authorities.
Former Albuquerque police Detective Keith Sandy and current officer Dominique Perez will each face a single count of open murder in the death of 38-year-old James Boyd, Second District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said in Bernalillo County on Monday. The charge of open murder will allow prosecutors to pursue either first-degree or second-degree murder charges.
The case comes after grand juries declined to charge police officers in the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Mo., and the chokehold killing of another unarmed man in New York City, Reuters reported.
On March 16, the SWAT team members fatally shot Boyd, who was accused of illegal camping and believed to have struggled with mental illness, during a four-hour standoff in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. A video from one of the officer's helmet showed that he had been attacked with a flash grenade while attempting to comply with orders to come down from a location.
Two officers, one with a dog and another with a rifle, then appear to close in on Boyd while ordering him to get down, later firing six rounds after Boyd appears to pull out two small knives in both hands.
However, the charge was "unjustified," Sam Bregman, lawyer for Sandy, told The Associated Press, adding that his client had done 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. "Keith did nothing wrong. To the contrary, he followed his training and probably saved his fellow officer's life."
Luis Robles, an attorney for Perez, said, "Sadly, this day has come. Regardless, I am confident that the facts will vindicate Officer Perez's actions in this case."
While the FBI is investigating the Boyd shooting, it remains unclear whether U.S. authorities will file any federal charges against the accused officers, according to the Associated Press.
For now, the date for a preliminary hearing for the two has not yet been set, Brandenburg said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Albuquerque police department is currently facing reforms and is under federal monitoring because it was found that they were using excessive, even deadly, force against civilians.
