ALBUQUERQUE – A defense witness in a case against two Albuquerque Police Department officers charged with murder in the death of a homeless man testified Thursday that the two men used the right tactics and followed standard training during the standoff.
Policing expert Ronald McCarthy based his testimony in part on his viewing of video taken by a nearby resident who saw the March 2014 encounter with James Boyd in the Albuquerque foothills.
“What they were doing was reasonable, and it was obvious they were trying to resolve this through verbal strategies,” McCarthy said at a preliminary hearing. “They were trying to use calming influence.”
Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy face second-degree murder and other counts. A judge previously dismissed involuntary manslaughter counts.
Defense attorneys say they acted in self-defense when Boyd threatened officers with knives.
Special prosecutors rested their case Wednesday at the hearing to decide if the defendants will stand trial.
Police were accused of unnecessarily escalating the three-hour standoff with Boyd, a schizophrenic who was suspected of illegally camping in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.
Prosecutors also said 19 officers were at the scene of the shooting.
“It’s not in my experience that the number of officers is gonna create an issue,” McCarthy testified. “It’s what the officers are doing.”
