Hung jury in Sandy, Perez trial (NM-police officers charged with murder, video)

The Albuquerque Journal ^ | October 11, 2016 | Colleen Heild and Katy Barnitz

[CedarDave]

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — The first murder trial involving an on-duty shooting by an Albuquerque police officer in at least 50 years ended late Tuesday afternoon with a District Court jury deadlocked 9-3 for acquittal on charges against former officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez.

Sandy and Perez, who showed no emotion at the mistrial ruling, left out the back door of the courtroom, away from the media attention.

Sandy retired months after the shooting, but Perez was terminated when the criminal charge was filed, per city policy. A decorated Marine Corps veteran of the Iraq War, Perez is now unemployed. He is appealing his termination.

Boyd, who suffered from paranoid schizophrenia, had been camping illegally in the Sandia foothills for a month before two APD Open Space officers confronted him that Sunday afternoon. The confrontation escalated until more than a dozen police officers had responded on the hillside. Ultimately, a hastily assembled team of off-duty officers, including Sandy, led the final hour of negotiations. Boyd at one point appeared ready to come down the hill, at the officers’ urging, and started to pick up his belongings.

But Sandy and Perez said he still posed a threat because he failed to drop his knives, as requested by police. Three attempts to subdue him with less lethal tactics, including a flash-bang grenade, a Taser shotgun and the release of a police service dog all failed.

Unexpectedly, the dog’s handler ran after the dog, which failed to bite Boyd. Boyd pulled out his knives again, and that created the volatile situation in which, Sandy and Perez testified, they felt compelled to shoot Boyd.

Boyd, 38, died the next morning.

[CedarDave]

Watch the shooting video; it is very graphic. This is what was shown to the jury. Decide for yourself whether the shooting was justified to the extent the officers should have been convicted of second-degree murder (they were not given the choice of a lessor offense like manslaughter).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xz1-wfimyu0

[Edward.Fish]

Looks like the officers were/are guilty to me — the guy wasn’t combative, and it looked like he was getting his belongings to move out.

[TheTimeOfMan]

Not a good shoot.

Having been “in the field” I hate it when political asshats try to dissect your actions after the fact.

But they clearly shot him in the back as he was running away.

I don’t know if that qualifies as murder under NM law or not.

[TheTimeOfMan]

Could be more to the story. Possibly there were civilians on the other side of that ridge and they didn’t want a crazy man running around with knives.

[IYAS9YAS]

I've been torn on this thing for a while. I don't think they went there with intent. It was a four-plus-hour stand-off. I do think several things went very wrong at the end, but the one thing that stood out to me was they hit him with a flash-bang, and he was certainly disoriented from that, I don't think he was reaching for anything, but trying to get away from the source of the noise/flash. Within short succession of that, they shot at him with a shot-gun-style taser, the dog was released, and the dog appeared to step on the taser wires, and it visibly and audibly reacted to that, then they opened fire.

I don't know everything that was presented at the trial, but apparently it was enough that they couldn't get everyone to agree on the verdict.

[Gay State Conservative]

Having worked in a big city ER for many years I've dealt with more paranoid schizophrenics than I care to recall.Such a person,armed with a knife,can be damn dangerous.Armed with *two* knives they can be incredibly dangerous.The video I saw doesn't say “murder” to me...or manslaughter.There could have been negligence involved but I'm not even sure of that.Given that the jury had no option for a lesser offense I'd say “not guilty” is the correct vote.

[ZULU]

It looked like a total wilderness. This was clearly excessive use of force. Unfortunately there is no picture of what went on before the shooting.

Jurors are VERY reluctant to side with the shooting victim in these cases as there is an assumption of guilt.

This is very scary and troubling and it appears to ME they OBVIOUSLY over- reacted considering the circumstances. The guy was walking away, they shot him in the back several times, he fell to the ground, they sicked a dog on him and shot him again.

These cops are out of control totally and scary.

[JAKraig]

Had I been on the jury and seen the video there would be no way anyone could convince me the shooting was justified.

Bad shoot, needless loss of life.

[Gay State Conservative]

Had I been on the jury and seen the video there would be no way anyone could convince me the shooting was justified.

Perhaps I should tell you the story of the male nurse I worked with...a big,burly,strong guy...who was almost beaten to death by one of the hundreds of schizophrenics I referred to above.They can turn on a dime.Cops know it.Staff members of hospital ERs know it...but you don't.And that's understandable because you've never seen it.

[IYAS9YAS]

It looked like a total wilderness. This was clearly excessive use of force. Unfortunately there is no picture of what went on before the shooting.

It was actually within city limits, in the Sandia Foothills, and within 300' of a residential area. The jury result was 9 voting not guilty, and 3 voting guilty. I don't know all of what they saw, or heard, at the trial, but it was 3-1 against.

[DesertRhino]

“It looked like a total wilderness.”

The houses are right behind you. And the homeowners lived in terror of this psycho who threatened people everywhere he went. He repeatedly sliced someone at a homeless shelter in town with a box cutter. You’ve never seen such gashes.
People couldn’t use the library there, because he would come in.
People in the houses by his camp couldn’t go for a walk in peace.

The world is that* much lighter without him.

[DesertRhino]

“It looked like a total wilderness.”

The houses are right behind you. And the homeowners lived in terror of this psycho who threatened people everywhere he went. He repeatedly sliced someone at a homeless shelter in town with a box cutter. You’ve never seen such gashes.
People couldn’t use the library there, because he would come in.
People in the houses by his camp couldn’t go for a walk in peace.

The world is that* much lighter without him.

[CedarDave]

The other charge to the jury was battery by Sandy; no vote was taken on the battery charge against Sandy.

[flaglady47]

He should have been institutionalized years before. But in the 60’s, once again the damnable liberals said it is an infringement of their rights to lock crazy people up without their consent which they seldom give because they are crazy, and instead through liberal court rulings, let all the loonies roam our streets freely. And some of them are crazy as jaybirds.

So, you have a bunch of mental sickos roaming our country freely, living on the streets, and it is bad for them, and it is bad for us. I think we should bring back institutionalization, and then lock up all the liberals in the same rooms with the insane. Let them sort it out amongst themselves. Oh, and be sure the libs are unarmed while mingling with their asylum roomies. No 2nd Amendment rights for them.

[Gay State Conservative]

The other charge to the jury was battery by Sandy; no vote was taken on the battery charge against Sandy.

OK...didn't know that.Although I've heard the word used thousands of times I don't have the first clue how it's defined under the law.So therefore I don't know if I saw any "battery" in that video.

[Gay State Conservative]

Boy you don't know how right you are on that point.So right,in fact,that one might think that you have either law enforcement or medical experience.As I mentioned earlier I spent many years working in a big city ER.I could tell you stories about our staff trying to deal with people who,thanks to a serious psych disorder,were a danger to themselves or others.No beds! Absolutely disgraceful.

[CedarDave]

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[tiki]

I have not kept up on this but I was told the defense was he had a knife and was going toward a K-9 officer who had lost control of his dog.

[MGunny]

What you view as a good or bad shoot is in the eye of the beholder. Different agencies have their own rules in regards to when DPF may be used. If this jurisdiction viewed the shooting lawful then those who disagree may go to court to change the policy. Just because you may not like it,the officers were exonerated, but their careers have been all but destroyed.

[TalBlack]

I watched it and I can only say that I have never seen such a collection of hyperventilating pussies in my lie. What a bunch of fems...