The Albuquerque PD has shot another victim and this time its one of their department's own officers working undercover. The circumstances surrounding this latest shooting have yet to be released.
$60 meth bust led to shooting of officer
By Ryan Boetel
It was an undercover operation to bust two men for selling $60 worth of methamphetamine, but things didn’t go as planned.
An Albuquerque police lieutenant shot a fellow officer who was working undercover in a McDonald’s parking lot near Central and Tramway just before noon Friday.
Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said Saturday the male officer remained in critical condition at University of New Mexico Hospital. He is in the intensive care unit and has undergone multiple surgeries.
Vester went into a room at the motel and came back to the vehicle with the meth, according to the complaint.
Garcia then drove to the McDonald’s nearby and gave the bust signal. It was then that the shooting took place. Witnesses said they heard around five shots. Police said the officer was shot multiple times, but the exact number wasn’t known.
In the aftermath of the shooting, the car doors where Bailey and Vester were sitting were open, but police haven’t released details about any perceived threat or why the lieutenant opened fire. The complaint makes no mention of the suspects having a gun at the scene.
The Albuquerque Police Department has been under scrutiny from the Justice Department for the high number of police shootings of unarmed suspects, and using excessive force. But it still seems no one is safe from Albuquerque PD's excessive use of lethal force not even members of the Albuquerque PD.
In related news charges against two Albuquerque police officers were filed today in the shooting death of James Boyd a homeless veteran with mental health issues.
DA files murder charges against officers in James Boyd shooting