Posted on 01/12/2015 8:51:47 PM PST by QT3.14
Two Albuquerque police officers were charged with murder Monday in the shooting death of a knife-wielding homeless man that led to violent protests and brought new scrutiny to the police department amid a federal investigation.
The decision to bring murder charges occurred at a time when police tactics are under intense review nationwide, fueled by the fatal shooting of an unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold death of another unarmed man in New York City. Grand juries declined to charge officers in those cases, leading to large protests.
Acknowledging the frustration over the secrecy of the proceedings in those cases, the Albuquerque district attorney said she would bypass the grand jury process and instead present the murder case to a judge at a preliminary hearing that will be open to the public.
"Unlike Ferguson and unlike in New York City, we're going to know. The public is going to have that information," District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
I think it’s another example of the dangers to the public because we have made it nearly impossible to institutionalize the dangerously unstable.
that guy was a time bomb. one day soon, he would have been in the headlines as the shooter in a rampage.
We had a similar incident here several years ago. A criminal was on the lose! They thought they had him near here as we were stopped on the road due to the standoff!
Up flies a hot shot deputy in his car, jumps out and “BAM!” one dead perp.
Uh ho, wrong man, a retarded man who had strayed away from home.
They caught the perp several miles away.
The deputy is now planting and picking cucumbers at the State Prison Farm.
You’se a cop-hater... LOL! :)
ACHTUNG JUDEN!!!!
Yes we do. Her as DA is a big one. She keeps getting reelected and I just don’t see how.
You forgot the family dog on your list.
Did you watch the video? Even with a dog and freakin’ beanbag guns they shot him at a distance with his back mostly turned.
If that’s the case then the citizens of Albuquerque have another gripe, they’re wasting money on dogs and bean bag shotguns and tasers when apparently all they need to pay for is M4’s and ammo...
The video is clear. They should be charged.
You are scary stupid.
Precrime much?
“...If you threaten to kill anyone, including cops, are armed, and refuse to surrender when rifles are pointed at you, you 100% deserve to die.”
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I watched the video several times. The cop killed him with an auto burst INTO HIS BACK. This individual who could not control his fear should not be a cop. He is a bad apple that needs to be weeded out. He probably didn’t intend in advance to kill the homeless camper, but that doesn’t bring the man back to life. This is likely a case of NEGLIGENT HOMICIDE (or the NM equivalent) and not 1st or 2nd degree murder.
IT WAS NOT A RIGHTEOUS KILL...PERIOD! It was an unjustified shooting by a BAD COP.
I'll say no, you don't. I'm all for wiping the scumbags off the face of the earth but... Three points I'd like to make.
First, even in the scenario you describe I wouldn't shoot. I carry a weapon every single day (as a civilian). Talking sh*t (threatening to kill someone) and being an a**hole (refusing to surrender/obey commands) are not sufficient grounds to shoot. If there is no immediate threat to life/limb neither me, you, nor LEOs have any justification for shooting. Just 'cause you're out of patience is no reason to kill someone.
Two, the situation you describe is not in fact what happened. The guy was shot when he obeyed commands from LEOs. They told him he had to leave, he got his stuff. They then apparently decided that wasn't good enough and they wanted to take him into custody. They flash-banged him and sent a dog at him. To me it looks like he pulled the knives to protect himself from the dog. However, they then commanded him to get on the ground - which he started to do! Put yourself in his place - you're in rocky broken terrain with a significant slope and you're told to lay down. You lay down where there is an opening, and with your head uphill, right? That's exactly what he was doing when the {expletive} on the M4 shot him, in the back. Then they bean-bagged him. Now, even if they thought he wasn't complying, (though it sure looks to me like he was) don't you think a little non-lethal persuasion would have been a good opening move? Maybe bean-bag him first before the burst of 5.56?
Third, I'll bet you I know exactly what the LEOs' defense will be. They will claim they thought he was going for a weapon (firearm) and that their lives were in danger. BS. Their lives were in danger because they escalated the situation with the flash bang and dog. They also moved in far too close too quickly placing themselves in danger from a person with a knife. Good thing for them and their safety he was complying and not attacking.
Consider this, what basically happened was he was shot for scaring the LEOs. If you buy that "they thought they were in danger" BS then they can literally shoot anyone, anywhere. Reaching into your glove compartment for your registration and insurance during a traffic stop? Sorry, thought you were going for a weapon, bang. Reaching into a bag at the shopping mall? Hey, thought you were going for a weapon and a mass casualty event, bang. Reaching under your jacket for your wallet at the game to buy a hot dog, sorry, thought you were going for a weapon, bang.
IMHO the guy on the M4 that shot and killed him is guilty of murder. Because the other officers present did not immediately disarm him and take him into custody makes them accessories to murder.
As someone else pointed out, using a weapon light as your primary source of illumination is a dangerously stupid thing to do. They had at least 6 people there, a dog handler, two guys with M4s, a guy with a shotgun, and a guy with a handgun in his hand. Handgun guy should have been providing illumination/support. They were also bunched up too much, should have been spread out more and further uphill instead of downhill from this guy. In other words, either APD's tactics suck, or these jokers weren't following their training. Probably a combination of both.
Here is James Boyd’s extremely violent history. Anyone who reads this and thinks the cops did the wrong thing needs to go join Rev. Al’s National Action Network.
http://www.abqjournal.com/376292/news/incidents-involving-james.html
Here is a timeline of James Boyd’s incarcerations and run-ins with police.
Jan. 10, 2002: Boyd is charged with battery on a peace officer in Las Cruces.
May, 2, 2002: He is sent to the state’s psychiatric hospital, the Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, for forensic evaluation.
Jan. 29, 2003: He is found competent to stand trial.
July 17, 2003: He is sent back to Las Vegas for another forensic evaluation. Eight months later, February 2004, he is still found incompetent and continued treatment is ordered.
July 7, 2004: He is returned to the Doña Ana County Judicial Complex for competency hearing and on Sept. 9 is found competent to stand trial.
A month later, Oct. 20, 2004, he is involuntarily committed to the Las Vegas facility due to his mental illness and the case is dismissed.
March 3, 2005: Boyd is arrested for assaulting a man on Civic Plaza, telling him: “I am God and I want to hurt you.” He is charged with assault and battery and taken to jail. On July 27, the charges are dropped.
July 11, 2007: Boyd is arrested for disorderly conduct at Albuquerque Fire Station 1 on McKnight NW for pounding on doors and refusing to leave. He tells officers he is a government agent and keeps yelling that he will send them to prison and hell. He is arrested and taken to the Metropolitan Detention Center.
July 15, 2007: While in jail, Boyd is informed that, because of an infraction, he is to be put on a 23-hour lockdown. He becomes violent and begins hitting a corrections officer in the chest. The officer sprays Boyd with pepper spray. Boyd is charged with battery on an officer and resisting an officer.
Oct. 7, 2008: An order of commitment is filed to send Boyd to BHI in Las Vegas for treatment to competency so he can stand trial.
March 2009: Boyd pleads no contest to battery and resisting arrest. He is sentenced to time already served.
A month later, April 15, 2009: Boyd is arrested at St. Martin’s Hospitality Center after getting into a fight with another man and slitting that man’s face several times with a box cutter. Boyd is taken to MDC.
June 18, 2010, while still in jail for the incident at St. Martin’s, Boyd uses a food tray to break three windows of his cell, causing over $1,000 in damage.
August 2010: Boyd pleads no contest to aggravated assault in the St. Martin’s incident and no contest to the criminal damages charge. He is sentenced to 18 months, and gets credit for time already served.
Dec. 21, 2010: Boyd is arrested after causing a disturbance in the public library Downtown. He becomes verbally abusive, resists officers’ attempts to arrest him, then begins fighting with officers, breaking the nose of one of them. He is booked into jail on two counts of battery on the police officers.
March 15, 2011: While in jail for the battery charges, Boyd breaks the window of his cell by striking it with a dinner tray and threatens a correctional officer with physical violence. He is subsequently charged with criminal damage to property and assault on a peace officer.
Aug. 19, 2011: Boyd argues with a fellow inmate and a guard. He breaks three windows in his cell and has to be subdued with pepper spray. He is charged with assault.
October 2011: The charges from the dinner tray incident and from the St. Martin’s incident are dismissed due to mental incompetency.
March 2012: The charges from the library incident are dismissed due to mental health issues.
September 2012: Boyd is sent to BHI in Las Vegas for treatment to bring him to competency in connection with the assault from August 2011. Nearly a year later, August 2013, charges are dismissed after he is found incompetent.
March 16, 2014: While illegally camping in the Sandia foothills, Boyd is involved in another confrontation with police. This one proves fatal.
What’s that got to do with trigger-happy roid-raging gunthugs murdering someone with machine guns?
At the time of his “murder” (SMH) James Boyd was brandishing 2 knives and had threatened to murder the police officers earlier in the 4 hour standoff.
His long, violent, crazy history gave the officers every reason to believe that he was a serious threat to their lives.
Why do some of you love violent psychopaths so much? Even if the cops DID murder him in cold blood (and they did NOT), nobody should cry a single tear over him.
Why do some of you distort arguments so much? If a murder was committed, prosecute it even if the murderee was the worst creep in the world. What’s so hard?
Yeah, why do some of you love violent psychopaths with machine guns & attack dogs so much?
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