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Otero County sheriff’s deputy facing murder charge after fatally shooting teen
KRQE ^ | January 13, 2025 | Madison Conner

Posted on 02/03/2025 6:22:39 AM PST by xxqqzz

OTERO COUNTY, N.M. (KRQE) –An Otero County Sheriff’s Office deputy is now facing a first-degree murder charge after fatally shooting a Mescalero Apache teenager last summer. Body camera video showed the deputy shooting 17-year-old Elijah Hadley less than thirty seconds after seeing him along the side of the road.

Diaz-Austin: Stop right there bro. Stop. Stop, stop right there.

Las Vegas plaza looks to keep entertainment, arts aesthetic following city council decision

Video showed Hadley stopping and lifting his hand to cover his eyes as the deputy asked if he’s alright.

Diaz-Austin: What are you doing? Let me see your other hand bro, let me see your other hand dog.

Hadley tossed a gun to the side as the deputy fired four times, hitting Hadley.

Diaz-Austin: Shots fired, shots fired. Hadley: It’s a BB gun! It’s just a BB gun.

It was later determined that the weapon was a BB gun.

Hadley goes on to scream he’s dying, as Deputy Diaz-Austin runs around to the passenger side to grab the first aid kit.

Diaz-Austin: I’m not hit, subject down.

You can hear Diaz-Austin yell to Hadley not to move or reach for the gun or he’ll get shot again. Hadley continues to yell it’s a BB gun and rolls onto his stomach.

The deputy then opened fire again and seconds later, fired four more shots. Diaz-Austin: I can’t render aid, I’m 10-4, I can’t render aid he’s still moving and the guns underneath him.

Diaz-Austin then asked dispatch if he should render aid. He was told to stand by.

Dispatch: Do you know where he was shot? Diaz-Austin: In the face, in the chest, his arm, and I believe in the back of the head like the top of his head area.

(Excerpt) Read more at krqe.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; US: New Mexico
KEYWORDS: banglist; donutwatch; newmexico; police
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17-year-old American Indian walking in the median of a highway. Deputy approaches him, and he drops a BB gun. Deputy shoots him 4 times and then another 15 times while he was lying on the ground shot. Deputy charged with murder 1. Imagine what went on before they had body cameras.
1 posted on 02/03/2025 6:22:39 AM PST by xxqqzz
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To: xxqqzz

[Las Vegas plaza looks to keep entertainment, arts aesthetic following city council decision]

Well, that’s certainly good to hear!


2 posted on 02/03/2025 6:24:53 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: xxqqzz

Not just murder, murder with depraved indifference.


3 posted on 02/03/2025 6:25:51 AM PST by Skwor
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News video of the incident:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nk-udtauTTM


4 posted on 02/03/2025 6:28:42 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: xxqqzz

There are really good cops and there are bad, overly-zealous and poorly-trained cops that make really bad, tragic decisions. In a sane world without BLM and Defund the Police, we’d be able to sort these things out rationally and cops like this would be removed from office and punished appropriately. But today, everything turns into a media drama. Let’s see what happens here.


5 posted on 02/03/2025 6:29:35 AM PST by Opinionated Blowhard (When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the republic.)
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To: xxqqzz

This cop sounds like the biggest pussy alive. This is the way feminized cops act.


6 posted on 02/03/2025 6:30:49 AM PST by TalBlack (Their god is government. Prepare for a religious war.)
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To: xxqqzz
"Diaz-Austin: Stop right there bro..."

"bro"? Yeah, sure. They're all "bro" and "dude". You never heard that crap on Dragnet or Adam-12.
7 posted on 02/03/2025 6:33:52 AM PST by equaviator (If 60 is the new 40 then 35 must be the new 15.)
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To: xxqqzz

Your interpretation of the event is flawed. Reread it again, without the bias.


8 posted on 02/03/2025 6:36:04 AM PST by Glennb51
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To: xxqqzz

Ashley Babbit wasn’t even armed with a BB gun, where are the charges against her murderer?


9 posted on 02/03/2025 6:36:07 AM PST by TexasFreeper2009
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To: xxqqzz

“let me see your other hand dog.”


Any cop that calls someone “dog”, should immediately be fired.


10 posted on 02/03/2025 6:36:51 AM PST by dfwgator (Endut! Hoch Hech!)
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To: xxqqzz

Sorry. Not going to convict the cop here on this. The kid had a gun. And then, when down, he rolled on top of it.

A cop reasonably assumes it is a real gun. Then the cop has to assume the guy is going grab the gun he is laying on top of.

This is New Mexico with violent illegal activity. I don’t blame the cop at all, especially after watching the video.


11 posted on 02/03/2025 6:37:56 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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To: SaveFerris

Tragic incident. 😧


12 posted on 02/03/2025 6:41:51 AM PST by sauropod (Make sure Satan has to climb over a lot of Scripture to get to you. John MacArthur Ne supra crepidam)
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To: Glennb51

Watch the video and post #4. Your interpretation is the one that is flawed. It was cold blooded murder. The kid was dropping his gun. He was holding it way away from his body, finger nowhere near the trigger and the cop opened fire. The kid was completely immobilized, and the cop empties his gun. 100% murder.


13 posted on 02/03/2025 6:42:24 AM PST by Right Brother (I don't really care Margaret.)
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To: xxqqzz

Its a dangerous World. Walking around with a gun in the streets is a privilege but carries with it a responsibility instead of a declaration of rights. Note to teens: OK, if you want to walk around with a gun, OK, but if you see a cop, put it on the ground BEFORE you are asked and explain later. Otherwise, get shot.


14 posted on 02/03/2025 6:47:37 AM PST by anton
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To: xxqqzz
Imagine what went on before they had body cameras.

This is why police unions fought so hard to stop body and dash cams and want to be able to turn then off at will.

15 posted on 02/03/2025 6:49:27 AM PST by Mr.Unique (My boss wants me to sign up for a 401K. No way I'm running that far! )
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To: rlmorel

Unless I read this wrong the BB gun was tossed to the ground. The teen was shot AFTER he tossed the gun to the ground and no reasonable threat existed. Either cop was poorly trained or demonstrated depraved indifference. Cops are supposedly trained professionals and are professionals in the use of deadly force. That means a higher standard as compared to a homeowner reacting to a perceived threat on their property. Cop is toast and should be. You expect a teenager who has been shot multiple times lying on the ground begging for his life to react properly and not roll over. But the armed professional law enforcement officer gets a pass for manslaughter?


16 posted on 02/03/2025 6:51:29 AM PST by OldGoatCPO (No Caitiff Choir of Angels will sing for me)
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To: TalBlack

The cop is clearly scared and reverts to his training….shoot the threat until it’s dead. Frankly, many cops should be in other occupations. They just aren’t suited for the job and its rigors. Sad for both parties.


17 posted on 02/03/2025 6:57:25 AM PST by 556x45
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To: rlmorel

That’s how I read it, too.


18 posted on 02/03/2025 6:58:10 AM PST by wintertime ( Behind every government school teacher stand armed police.( Real bullets in those guns on the hip!))
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To: xxqqzz

Before ANYONE jumps to a jackass conclusion:

The cop doesn’t know what age the guy is. All he knows is that he is as big as he is.
He doesn’t know yet what kind of record this guy has. (I know where I’m putting MY money...).
The guy won’t take his hand out of his pocket.
When he does, he throws away a “gun”.
The cop has a split second to decide whether it’s a real gun or not.

None of you were there. None of you have the slightest idea what a cop’s job is like. I’ll wait for the body cam to be released. THANK YOU GOD for body cams!

And BTW, it doesn’t matter what your “heritage” is, your color, your gender...if you are a jerk, then you are a jerk.


19 posted on 02/03/2025 6:59:15 AM PST by 13Sisters76 ("It is amazing how many people mistake a certain hip snideness for sophistication. " Thos. Sowell)
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To: OldGoatCPO

I watched the video. He pulled out the gun to drop it and the cop shot him. The news media had no problem slowing it down, freezing it, and saying “See? The BB gun was visible, in the process of being dropped, and the victim was saying it’s a BB gun when the cop shot him.”

The cop was looking at the victim, carrying that sweatshirt or whatever it was in front of him, and keyed into what was coming out. And as far as he was concerned he saw the handle of a gun come out.

You don’t think criminals who are shot, laying on top of their firearm wouldn’t roll over and take a shot at a cop as the cop approached?

And by the way, it isn’t a pass for “manslaughter”. That wouldn’t be for me to decide. It should be a pass for 1st Degree Murder.

Generally, most first-degree murder laws include that the defendant purposefully or willfully, with deliberation and premeditation, caused the death of another person.


20 posted on 02/03/2025 6:59:58 AM PST by rlmorel ("A people that elect corrupt politicians are not victims...but accomplices." George Orwell)
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