Investigation into police fatal shooting of James Boyd, closed
The Justice Department announced on Tuesday there is insufficient evidence to pursue federal criminal civil rights charges against Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officers involved in the fatal shooting of James Boyd. The man was shot after threatening policemen with two knives.
According to a press release, prosecutors and investigators at the Justice Department conducted a comprehensive independent review of the events surrounding the March 16, 2014, shooting that resulted in Boyd’s death. Boyd, who had a long history of mental illness, was shot and killed following a lengthy standoff with law enforcement officers after he was discovered camping illegally in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. After the shooting, Boyd underwent extensive surgery, and was pronounced dead of massive trauma at 2:55 a.m. the next morning. Surgeons had amputated his right arm, removed his spleen, part of one lung and part of his colon in their efforts to save his life.
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After a careful and thorough review into the facts surrounding the shooting, federal investigators determined that there is insufficient evidence prove beyond a reasonable doubt a violation of the federal statute.
“The evidence, when viewed as whole, indicates that the officers fired only after reasonably perceiving that Boyd posed a serious threat of physical harm to a fellow officer. At the time of the shooting, Boyd was brandishing two knives and was in close proximity to a canine handler. Additionally, the officers were aware of Boyd’s violent criminal history, mental health issues, and his repeated threats to kill officers during the standoff. Consequently, there is insufficient evidence to prove that the officers’ uses of deadly force were objectively unreasonable,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office District of New Mexico
says in a press release.
A protest was held on March 25, 2014, in response to the shooting of James Boyd. Thousands of people marched through downtown Albuquerque and the Nob Hill area of the city. On the three-month anniversary of Boyd’s death, a group of people held a vigil at his campsite in his honor, singing Amazing Grace and vowing to improve the lives of the homeless and the mentally ill in Albuquerque.
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