2 APD officers fired after deadly shooting could get their jobs back
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — Two Albuquerque police officers may be getting back on the force nearly two years after a deadly shooting led to them losing their jobs.
In June 2023, police killed 25-year-old Jeramiah Salyards and wounded two bystanders at a city bus stop near Lomas and Louisiana. Police believed Salyards stabbed a man in the neck in a nearby McDonald’s drive-thru, hours before the shooting.
“We accompany the police officer from the very beginning,” said Shaun Willoughby, the president of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association.
Willoughby has been with the four fired officers through every step, including the appeal of some of their findings. Officers Eric Wilensky and Violet Baca, as well as acting Sgt. Brenda Johnson, appealed the city’s decision.
“We lost four officers as a result of this. Four good police officers got terminated as a result of this case,” Willoughby said.
In a recent report on the incident, the city hearing officer recommends the City of Albuquerque reverse the Albuquerque Police Department’s decision to fire Baca and Johnson over the shooting.
The hearing officer stated the suspect “wrote his own script for death by gunfire” and that “his violent, unpredictable, and sudden actions simply left officers with no other options.”
“This is a good opportunity to educate the public with the unrealistic expectations that are established in policy and just the level of scrutiny that are on these police officers based on decisions made in a split second,” Willoughby said.
Police lapel video showed Salyards lunging toward a man at the nearby bus stop when officers approached him. The hearing officer said officers had seconds to suddenly consider that whole new set of circumstances.
“There’s a lot that goes into these cases, and they happen very, very fast. Police officers are only human. They are well trained, but they’re only human,” Willoughby said.
The hearing officer also brought what he calls “the gorilla in the room,” in reference to the U.S. Department of Justice oversight of APD. The officer wrote, “I cannot help but wonder whether this investigation and the resulting discipline was unfairly influenced by APD’s global goal of freeing itself from the Department of Justice consent decree ball and chain.”
Willoughby believes there should be a few takeaways.
“I hope that they reflect on these decisions, and they make this a better working environment for the men and women who are sworn to protect this city, because this city definitely deserves it,” he said.
APD stated the decision to reverse the firings of Baca and Johnson is still pending, so Chief Harold Medina and Superintendent of Police Reform Eric Garcia can’t comment until the decision is made.
Officer Wilensky couldn’t make it to the appeal hearing, so his firing stands. According to the New Mexico Law Enforcement Certification Board, Wilensky’s certification is under investigation because of a misconduct claim last October.
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