A New Mexico sheriff’s deputy is accused of shooting a fellow officer to death at a Las Cruces hotel during an alcohol-fueled argument early on Tuesday morning and was expected to face charges in the case, police said.
The two Santa Fe County deputies were staying in Las Cruces on Monday night after transporting a prisoner to an Arizona jail and were believed to have argued at a pub, Las Cruces Police spokesman Dan Trujillo said in a written statement.
The dispute apparently continued after the pair returned to the Hotel Encanto at around midnight, Trujillo said in the statement.
“The argument between the two quickly escalated and the 27-year-old deputy is believed to have fired several rounds from a semi-automatic weapon at (Deputy Jeremy) Martin,” Trujillo said.
“The evidence indicates that the 27-year-old fired several rounds as Martin attempted to flee the 7th Floor and enter an elevator,” he said.
Martin, 29, was married and had three children under the age of 10. He had been with the sheriff’s department for nearly three years, Santa Fe County Sheriff Robert Garcia said.
Authorities declined to release the name of the deputy who allegedly shot Martin, but the Albuquerque Journal newspaper identified him as Tai Chan, 27.
Trujillo said Las Cruces Police officers who arrived at the scene found Martin outside the elevator, bleeding profusely from gunshot wounds to his back and arms. He died after being rushed to a nearby hospital.
The deputy accused of shooting him was taken into custody without incident in a stairwell near the roof of the hotel, Trujillo said. It was not immediately clear what charges he would face.
“The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is a close law enforcement family and this is a tragedy for all. Both deputies involved were exemplary individuals,” Garcia said in a written statement.
“We are in shock and I am at a loss for words,” he said.
(Reporting by Dan Whitcomb; Editing by Sandra Maler)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/10/28/us-usa-police-shooting-idUSKBN0IH29720141028
OUTSTANDING!!!
Thanks, admin! 😀
“Authorities declined to release the name of the deputy who allegedly shot Martin, but the Albuquerque Journal newspaper identified him as Tai Chan, 27.”
Police forces across the country could use a whole lot more just like him.