ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — Two Albuquerque police officers have been charged with murder in the March killing of a homeless camper, a shooting that generated sometimes violent protests around the city and sparked a federal investigation, prosecutors said Monday.
SWAT team member Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy will each face a single count of open murder in the death of 38-year-old James Boyd, Second District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said. Open murder allows prosecutors to pursue either first-degree or second-degree murder charges.
Police said Perez and Sandy fatally shot Boyd, who was holding a knife, during an hourslong standoff in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains. Video from an officer's helmet camera showed Boyd, who had struggled with mental illness, appearing to surrender when officers opened fire.
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