Not in this case:
Saturday, July 17, 2004
Dog Chase Ends With Gun Death
By Michael Davis, Journal Staff Writer
A pistol-packing mountain biker killed a Cochiti-area man Thursday— after, he said, the man threatened him with a handgun— near Cochiti Lake, State Police said.
The victim, Scott Massey, died of multiple gunshot wounds, State Police spokesman Lt. Jimmy Glascock said. The name of the mountain biker, a 39-year-old Albuquerque firefighter, according to Glascock, was not released Friday. The cyclist told police the altercation occurred after he was chased by the victim's dogs and he fired a shot to scare them away. Officers responded to the shooting about 6:40 p.m. in Cochiti Canyon, near the Dixon Apple Orchard past Cochiti Lake.
According to Glascock:
The cyclist was pedaling his mountain bike on Tent Rocks Road toward the lake when he was chased by two dogs. The cyclist drew his pistol and fired a shot into the ground to scare the dogs off, and they ran away unharmed. "He didn't shoot the dogs," Glascock said.
The cyclist said he heard someone shouting but kept pedaling. He told police that, a mile or two later, Massey raced up behind him in a Toyota pickup. The biker said he got off the road and his bicycle. Massey owned the dogs, Glascock said, and the cyclist told police Massey was extremely angry and verbally abusive. The mountain biker said that he tried to leave but that the dog owner cut him off and brandished a handgun. "At that point, the cyclist shot the victim multiple times," Glascock said.
The cyclist then called 911 and remained at the scene until police arrived. "We questioned and detained the cyclist for the investigation and then released him," Glascock said. Glascock said officers recovered two handguns at the scene, one belonging to each man. Police investigators have conferred with the Sandoval County District Attorney's Office and no charges have been filed at this time, Glascock said. The investigation is ongoing.
Copyright 2004 Albuquerque Journal
Everything I've read about that case appears to support the fact that it was a "clean shoot".