Charges of murder have been leveled at two New Mexico police officers, Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez, that shot and killed a homeless man with a history of mental illness who was camping illegally in the foothills near Albuquerque in March of last year.

38-year-old James Boyd was shot and killed after officers contacted him as he was camped out in the hills. During the initial contact, Boyd appeared to be complying with the officer’s demands that he pack up and leave the area. Boyd had picked up his belongings and had slung his backpack over his shoulder and was preparing to leave when the officers fired a flash-bang at the homeless man.

Disoriented, Boyd dropped his bag and dug into his pockets, pulled out two pocket-knives,  and put his arms above his head as if he were giving up. It was then that the officers moved into closer proximity of Boyd and opened fire on him, shooting several times and putting him down. As Boyd lay mortally wounded on the rocky terrain, officers ordered him to put his arms out to his sides. Dying, Boyd was unable to comply. Officers then fired several  bean bags at the already dead and motionless man as he lay where he fell.

As Boyd lay there dead, officers let loose their K-9s who attacked Boyd’s corpse.

The entire incident was captured on the helmet cam of one of the responding officers.

Albuquerque prosecutors charged the two officers with open murder, with a charge of open murder, the prosecutors can pursue either a charge of first or second degree murder.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled in order to see if the charges have merit and will stand. Prosecutors said, unlike the cases in Ferguson and New York, where two black men, Michael Brown and Eric Garner died from aggressive police tactics, they will not take the case to a Grand Jury. Grand Juries in those cities failed to level charges at the officers involved in those deaths.

  albuquerque, homeless, james boyd, murder, new mexico, police