APD under scrutiny after shooting man already in custody
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Albuquerque city councilors had a lot of questions Monday night after police shot and killed a man who was already in custody.
City councilors and protesters alike are demanding Albuquerque police release all body camera video from that shooting Friday.
This all started when police were conducting a drug operation at the Tewa Lodge on Central. APD took Matthew Garcia into custody, who had multiple warrants at the time.
APD admits they didn’t fully pat him down before putting him into a patrol unit, handcuffed. About 45 minutes later, police say they saw Garcia reaching for something in his waistband, which turned out to be a gun.
APD Chief Harold Medina says once all the video is released, we will hear a conversation among officers, indicating they were concerned about not fully searching Garcia before putting him in the patrol unit.
Meanwhile, Garcia’s parents say they’re not only upset about the shooting, but say they had to find out from people on the street that their son had died.
“We are just devastated by what happened to our son, being in the back of that vehicle, not being searched before he was put in that vehicle, was uncalled for. He should have been searched before he was put in that car,” said the parents. “Why have we not been told about our son, why? We found out through people on the streets. And then we weren’t allowed to cross the line. Well, I feel in my heart they crossed the line with our son.”
Medina was also at the meeting. He says early misinformation about how and when Garcia was shot has made it difficult for police.
He asked for patience while people wait for more information and more video to come out.
“Misinformation has driven this very negative direction. The individual involved and their family, officers and their family deserve to have proper information. Right off the bat, there was some extremely disturbing information that went out,” said Medina. “The key thing here is we need time to conduct an investigation and get through the facts to get all the information out, and to be able to assure we give officers their due process.”
Protesters who attended Monday night’s meeting are also calling on the police department to fire the officers involved.
Medina says the whole matter, including why Garcia was never patted down, remains under investigation.
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