Albuquerque –
The Albuquerque Police Department has released information about an officer-involved shooting that occurred on August 17, 2024, at 400 Arno St. S.E. Today, APD officially identified the shoplifting suspect killed by officers as Derek Pickett. After a foot chase Pickett barricaded himself in a backyard shed and exchanged gunfire with an officer. No one was injured during the exchange, but after several hours of negotiations, an APD SWAT officer fatally shot Pickett as he exited a shed holding a handgun. ABQ RAW covered this incident as it was unfolding and after the suspect was shot.
Initial Incident
At 2:20 PM, an officer was dispatched to the Family Dollar at 613 Broadway Blvd. S.E. to assist a man trying to retrieve his wallet from a friend. While waiting, the officer saw Derek Pickett running from the store with stolen goods. Employees shouted, “He stole,” prompting the officer to chase Pickett, suspecting theft or robbery.
During the pursuit, Pickett dropped the items and ran, ignoring the officer’s commands to stop and show his hands. The officer saw Pickett reaching for a gun in his waistband. Pickett reportedly said, “I can’t go back to jail,” and then fled again.
Officers searched the area and were informed by a local worker that Pickett had run into a shed behind a house on Arno St. Officers attempted to de-escalate the situation, but after 16 minutes, Pickett instead fired a shot from the shed. An officer returned fire, but no one was hit.
SWAT Activation
At 4:16 PM, the SWAT team arrived and tried for two hours to communicate with Pickett, making over 50 contact attempts. At 6:25 PM, Pickett came out holding a phone in his left hand and a gun in his right hand. A SWAT officer fired, hitting Pickett in the chest. Pickett briefly got up but collapsed again. Despite first aid efforts, he died from his injuries on scene.
Investigation
The incident is being investigated by the Multi-Agency Task Force and reviewed by APD’s Internal Affairs and Force Review Board. The District Attorney’s Office will determine if any criminal charges are necessary.
SUBJECT: Derek Pickett, 44
INVOLVED OFFICERS: Officer Truitt Bushnell, who has been with APD as a Conservation officer since 2023, has not been involved in prior officer-involved shootings.
Officer Robert Sanchez, who has been with APD since 2015, has been involved in two prior officer-involved shootings – in 2018 and 2022.
You can read our previous stories on this incident here and here.
That video is a joke. Cops become cops because they want to know what it feels like to shoot someone and get away with it . And these cops are sober ? That’s mentally insane. The suspect was holding a phone or “gun” outside the shed why did they find the gun inside the shed?? And of course a 9 mm? What a sad sick world .. trigger happy cops covering up for each other.. and he’s gonna be in swat ? Wow !
You can see the gun in the video, dumbass. This was a clean shoot. There’s a LOT of bad cops, but this was textbook. Dude has a million chances to give up, he even shot at them previously so they KNOW he is armed and willing to kill. He comes out armed, raises gun, gets shot. This dude brought it on himself for $50 worth of crap. What would you do in your infinite wisdom? Wait until this dude shoots you to return fire? You’re a good example of why society has gone to shit. Shut the fuck up, take your cats, get back in the kitchen and let the men handle it.
It was murder murder. .
This video is fake! The man identified is not the man who was killed. The whole thing is a cover up because the stupid cops murdered an unarmed man. The victim was not black either. Look at the video. The location where the swat shit him has no vantage point. This is all fake news and a cover up. Investigate this incident and prosecute the Officers who are involved.. fake news