New Mexico State Police officers shot and killed a man in an incident that began late Wednesday night at a Chevron near Montgomery and Louisiana NE, according to State Police.
About 10:51 p.m. Wednesday, a State Police officer engaged in a traffic stop at the Chevron and “immediately noticed several knives and what appeared to be drug paraphernalia” in the driver’s vehicle, State Police Chief Tim Johnson said at a news conference.
He said that after several hours of discussion between the suspect and the officer, who was certified in crisis intervention, “the male driver decided to ingest what we believe to be an illegal drug, then put his vehicle in reverse, crashing into one of our units and then fled south on Louisiana Boulevard, where he attempted to turn east into the Smith’s parking lot,” Johnson said.
The driver then barricaded himself in his vehicle and a SWAT team eventually arrived, he said.
State Police used a flash bang and “a chemical munition” before the driver exited through the passenger door of his vehicle, “but unfortunately, he exited with a machete,” Johnson said.
Tactical officers then deployed a bean bag round, but that likely wasn’t successful, he said, “because a short time later, two of our officers fired their duty rifles, hitting the suspect, who is now deceased. Our personnel are OK, thank goodness, and as I mentioned, the suspect is deceased.”
Johnson said he wanted to “commend our personnel for spending what appears to be three plus hours out there in the freezing cold attempting to communicate and negotiate with the suspect … to resolve this peacefully.”
The officers who fired their weapons are on administrative leave, Johnson said, adding they won’t be identified until they are interviewed. He said the suspect also won’t be identified until his next of kin is notified.
