ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) – Two Albuquerque police officers were charged with murder in the March killing of a homeless camper, a shooting that generated sometimes violent protests around the city and sparked a federal investigation into a police force that has been found to use excessive force.
SWAT team member Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy will each face a single count of open murder in the death of 38-year-old James Boyd, Second District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said Monday. Open murder allows prosecutors to pursue either first-degree or second-degree murder charges.
Police said Perez and Sandy fatally shot Boyd, who was holding two knives, during an hourslong standoff in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Video from an officer’s helmet camera showed Boyd, who authorities say had struggled with mental illness, appearing to surrender when officers opened fire.
The case is a departure after grand juries declined to charge officers in the shooting death of unarmed 18-year-old in Ferguson, Missouri, and the chokehold killing of another unarmed man in New York City.
Sam Bregman, lawyer for Sandy, told The Associated Press that the charge was “unjustified” and said Sandy did nothing wrong.