Officer: Police knew man was mentally ill before he was shot

Fox made his comments during a preliminary hearing for Perez and Sandy, who are facing murder charges for Boyd’s death.

Judge Neil Candelaria ruled Tuesday that there is probable cause to go forward in the trial of two Albuquerque Police Department officers, one who has since retired, who shot and killed a homeless man. Randi McGinn, the special prosecutor appointed to try the case, showed that, despite being at a higher elevation, Boyd was turning from officers and was shot in the back.

Police then detonated a flash bomb near Boyd, who dropped his bag and pulled two knives before Perez and Sandy shot him as he fell to the ground.

A judge will decide after the hearing if the officers should stand trial.

An Albuquerque police K-9 officer testified Monday that his plan to take James Boyd into custody fell apart in seconds and that two of his fellow officers saved his life by shooting Boyd. McGinn blasted what she called the officers’ excessive and deceptive tactics, arguing that an appropriate response to Boyd’s illegal camping would have been an order him to relocate to a national forest boundary a short walk from his campsite.

He would tell Boyd to gather up his belongings and start walking down the hill.

Perez and Sandy will be arraigned at a later date.

After the ruling, defense lawyer Sam Bregman asked Candelaria what standard he used to justify probable cause.

The charges were filed against the two officers in the killing of 38-year-old James Boyd, who, authorities say, had schizophrenia.

He was recorded on a digital recorder calling Boyd a “lunatic” and talking about using force against the homeless man moments after he first arrived on scene.

A video, which was filmed during the shooting, only fueled the controversy – as Boyd appears to surrender moments before the officers opened fire.

Upon arrival, the Albuquerque police officers attempted to persuade the homeless man to leave his makeshift shelter. According to a KRQE report, “The defense maintains that Lewinski is an expert when it comes to officer action and reaction times during shootings, with a substantial academic background”. Jim Fox praised Perez for being “very calm under fire [!]” and said that, “he made great decisions”.

The city and the Justice Department later entered an agreement to overhaul policies involving use of force and to appoint a federal monitor to oversee reforms.