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Prosecutor: Police officers unlawfully opened fire in death

Former Albuquerque Detective Keith Sandy, center, listens to a special prosecutor tell a judge at a preliminary hearing that he unlawfully shot a homeless camper who posed no threat in Albuquerque, N.M. on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. Sandy and Albuquerque officer Dominique Perez are facing second-degree murder charges in the 2014 fatal shooting death of 38-year-old James Boyd. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)
Former Albuquerque Detective Keith Sandy, center, listens to a special prosecutor tell a judge at a preliminary hearing that he unlawfully shot a homeless camper who posed no threat in Albuquerque, N.M. on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. Sandy and Albuquerque officer Dominique Perez are facing second-degree murder charges in the 2014 fatal shooting death of 38-year-old James Boyd. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras) Former Albuquerque Detective Keith Sandy, center, listens to a special prosecutor tell a judge at a preliminary hearing that he unlawfully shot a homeless camper who posed no threat in Albuquerque, N.M. on Monday, Aug. 3, 2015. Sandy and Albuquerque officer Dominique Perez are facing second-degree murder charges in the 2014 fatal shooting death of 38-year-old James Boyd. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

By Associated Press 4 min read

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – A “paramilitary response” by police in New Mexico unnecessarily escalated an encounter last year that ended when two officers unlawfully opened fire and killed a homeless man despite signs that he wanted to surrender, a special prosecutor said Monday.

The two Albuquerque officers charged with murder in the death of James Boyd came to the scene with the intent of attacking him, Special Prosecutor Randi McGinn asserted at a preliminary hearing to decide if the officers should stand trial.

“What was the crime that prompted this paramilitary response? It was not a terrorist act. It was illegal camping,” McGinn said during his opening statement at the hearing for Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy.

In their opening statements, defense attorneys said their clients did nothing wrong and both felt the lives of their fellow officers were in danger.

The prosecutor said the shooting occurred after 19 officers armed with a total of more than 700 rounds of ammunition surrounded Boyd for camping illegally in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.