ALBUQUERQUE, N.M.—A nearly three-week murder trial that scrutinized the shooting death of a homeless man by Albuquerque police fell short of settling the fates of the two former officers, with jurors saying they were deadlocked on second-degree murder charges against the men.
Nine jurors wanted to acquit Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez in the March 2014 shooting that touched off protests in New Mexico’s largest city, and three were holding out for a guilty verdict, leading Judge Alisa Hadfield to declare a mistrial Tuesday after more than two days of deliberations.
“These officers followed their training to a ‘T’,” said defense attorney Sam Bregman. “When cops follow their training they shouldn’t be prosecuted for it.”
The case in Albuquerque marked a rare effort by prosecutors to bring murder charges against officers, coming at a time when police shootings have rocked cities nationwide. Sandy and Perez shot James Boyd near his Albuquerque campsite, with three bullets striking him in the arms and back at the end of an hourslong standoff.
