Posted on 08/19/2005 4:23:02 PM PDT by NRA2BFree
Albuquerque Police Department Chief Ray Schultz announced Friday that the suspect accused of killing two Albuquerque police officers may be linked to two other murders Thursday.
Schultz, at a news conference Friday afternoon, said John Hyde, 48, may be linked to a double murder at a motorcycle shop near Central and Tramway, along with the death of a state Department of Transportation employee found near a NMDOT warehouse.
Schultz stressed that the links are only the result of a preliminary investigation.
Police say Hyde shot at officers Michael King and Richard Smith on Thursday night when the two officers went to pick him up for a mental health evaluation on Gold near Ash in southeast Albuquerque. Hyde then took off on a motorcycle, police say.
Hyde was soon found and arrested near Louisiana and Southern after police blocked off streets to look for him. He is being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center on a $5 million cash-only bond.
Gov. Bill Richardson on Friday ordered flags around the state to be flown at half-staff through Sunday in honor of the fallen officers.
Both officers were parents Both King and Smith were parents, and both returned to the force after a retirement, Schultz said.
Schultz described Smith as a “model police officer.” He said Smith had earned a perfect score on his firearms proficiency test and had a proud history in the department.
Smith leaves behind his wife and one daughter.
King received numerous commendations, Schultz said. The father of two boys was retired for just a year and a half from APD before rejoining the department last year.
Schultz said King “loved being a street cop.”
Also, Schultz said, both officers’ fathers worked at the department and retired in the early 1980s.
Officers’ deaths the 13th and 14th for the department The two officers killed Thursday night are the 13th and 14th Albuquerque police officers killed in the line of duty since 1886, according to the Officer Down Memorial Page.
Officer Jeffrey Cole Russell was the 12th officer killed on duty. He died in a car accident on I-40 in January 2002.
The last officer killed by gunfire died in February 1987. Officer John Arthur Carillo was shot and killed while responding to a domestic dispute. The man convicted of killing him was sentenced to life in prison.
Schultz: ‘We’re all grieving’ During a 3:30 a.m. news conference Friday, Schultz choked back tears as he asked for the support of Albuquerque’s citizens.
“We are grieving,” he said. “The men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department and the Albuquerque community have suffered a tremendous loss. We ask for everyone's prayers and thoughts for all the men and women of the Albuquerque Police Department. This is a very sad day for all of us. This is very heavy in our hearts. It's going to take us a long time to recover from this event. But please, everyone, be patient – be patient with us. If you see an officer, wave at him today, smile at him. We're grieving. We're all grieving.”
Stay tuned to Eyewitness News 4 and KOBTV.com for the latest information on this developing story.
Just damn. Condolences to their families.
Mr. S_S29 and I had just returned home after being caught in the scene of another double homecide.
Praying for all involved.
It's definitely been a violent week in ABQ. A total of 8 people have been murdered in the last 5 days. Another 4 last week.
Were you caught in the murders at the motorcycle shop?
Friday, August 19, 2005Two Albuquerque Police Officers Shot, Killed
By T.J. Wilham And Jeff Proctor / Journal Staff Report
The two Albuquerque officers allegedly gunned down by a mentally ill man late Thursday were veteran officers who had recently come out of retirement to rejoin the force.
Michael King, 50, and Richard Smith, 46, were shot to death when they went to serve a "mental health" pickup order in the 1500 block of Gold Avenue SE.
John Hyde, 48, was arrested early Friday morning and charged with two counts of open murder in the deaths of the two officers.
A man matching Hyde's description earlier Thursday had been sought in the killings of two motorcycle shop employees on East Central, according to a Metropolitan Court criminal complaint.
Police have not released the names of those victims.
Police Chief Ray Schultz said officers are investigating the possibility that Hyde was involved in those shootings.
Schultz also said there is a "possible link" between Hyde and the discovery of a state Department of Transportation worker early Thursday on Albuquerque's West Side.
In an emotional news conference Friday afternoon, the chief called the two slain officers "heroes."
King and Smith have a family history with APD. Both of their fathers worked for the department, Schultz said. "It shows how tight a police family we are," he said. Both officers also have wives and children.
"Please keep these officers and their families and their children in your prayers," Schultz said.
King and Smith were dispatched to a home in the 1500 block of Gold SE at 10:15 p.m. for a mental health pickup order issued from Kaseman Hospital for Hyde.
A short time later, the officers called out on their police radios "officers down. Shots fired."
When another officer responded, he saw Hyde drive off on a motorcycle similar to the one that was seen leaving River Valley Motor Cross hours earlier, according to the complaint.
After the call went out, officers and detectives bolted from the double homicide at Rider Valley Motor Cycles near Central and Dorado SE, jumped into their cars and shredded crime-scene tape.
They headed toward Downtown as fast as they could go. A several-mile radius from Central on the north, Avenida de Cesar Chavez on the south, University to the east and Interstate 25 on the west had the feel of a city under martial law.
Albuquerque police, joined by sheriff's deputies and State Police combed alleyways, sidestreets and parking lots Õ desperately searching for a man in a black jacket, camouflage pants and riding a black motorcycle.
Officers spotted Hyde near Kathryn and Louisiana SE on a motorcycle. After a short pursuit, officers took Hyde into custody.
After he was arrested, Hyde told officers that he was responsible for shooting the two officers, according to the complaint.
Investigators found a shotgun, a handgun and a duffel bag at the scene where the officers were killed.
Schultz said at the news conference that the officers who responded to the call did not know that Hyde was a suspect in the killings earlier Thursday.
Terrible. The guy sure looks like a loony. Even here in rural Florida, we recently had a nutcase in a small town nearby kill an officer who was making a "wellness check." Most people don't even know that the police do this, and few people realize how dangerous it is.
Prayers for them and their families.
This is the sickening part. He'll probably plead insanity and do a short stretch in the mental hospital. He'll take his meds and be a good boy and the mental giants at the hospital will parole him, as "cured."
The mentally ill should be kept locked up. Too many of them shoot officers when they attempt to pick them up again because they're having a relapse.
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