APD Releases Body Camera Footage of Two Deadly Officer Involved Shootings

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July 20, 2023, 4:30 am

BY: ABQ RAW staff

POSTED: 07/19/2023 @ 9:45PM

APD Officers engage in a shootout in a busy supermarket on June 24th, 2023.

(EDITORS NOTE: APD’S PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICE RELEASED SMALL SNIPPETS OF BODY CAMERA FOOTAGE AND NOT THE WHOLE INCIDENT. GOING FORWARD ABQ RAW WILL PUBLIC REQUEST FOOTAGE OF OFFICER INVOVLED SHOOTINGS TO GET MORE FOOTAGE TO SHOW THE SHOOTINGS.)

Albuquerque, N.M.

In a matter of 5 days, Albuquerque Police Department have been involved in two deadly officer involved shootings involving violent felony suspects. Both of the shootings had civilians extremely close by when the shootings happened. Today, Albuquerque Police held a press conference to brief the media about the shootings and to show limited body camera footage from the officers involved in the incidents.

See entire press conference here:

During the first incident officers were dispatched at 3:24 p.m. on Saturday, June 24, 2023, to a check of a suspicious person in a vehicle outside of the Auto Zone. The Auto Zone is located at 131 98th St., N.W. An adult male was reported to be slumped over the steering wheel of a car with the engine running. The manager of the store said the man had two knives visible in his shirt, loud music could be heard coming from the vehicle, and the driver had been in that condition for about two hours.

PATREON MEMBERS CAN SEE THE GRAPHIC SHOOTINGS LINKS BELOW:

The Louisiana and Lomas Shooting

www.patreon.com/posts/86365316

El Mezquite Shooting

www.patreon.com/posts/86365514

The first officer arrived at 3:32 p.m. APD’s Real Time Crime Center alerted responding officers to use caution because the driver of the vehicle, identified as Mark Peter, 41, was previously charged with battery on a peace officer, aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, and narcotics charges. As officers developed a plan and organized a force array with lethal and less-lethal options, they learned Peter had a confirmed felony warrant and a one misdemeanor warrant for his arrest.

Officers set up tire-deflation devices in the parking lot and started using public announcements at 3:44 p.m. to get Peter’s attention. He remained slumped over the steering wheel until 4:08 p.m., when he started driving his car from the parking spot. He drove over a tire-deflation device, which punctured the two front tires of his car.

Strip Mall on east side of 98th Street

Peter drove across 98th Street and entered the strip mall on the east side of the road near the Church’s Fried Chicken. He stopped his car on the north end of the strip mall, exited on foot and pursuing officers saw him run behind the businesses. Witnesses reported seeing him by a blue dumpster. An officer later spotted a man, believed to be Peter, walking southbound behind the businesses and trying unsuccessfully to open doors.

As officers arrived behind the business from the north, another officer pulled up in his vehicle to the south, behind the Subway restaurant. He noticed a man walking toward him and the officer started giving commands. As he pointed his rifle at Peter, he identified himself as a police officer, told the man several times that he was not free to leave, and told him to put his hands up. Peter continued to walk toward the officer, then turned west between two buildings, where another officer was exiting his police vehicle. Peter verbally responded to the commands directed toward him, but continued to walk away from the first officer who was yelling for him to stop. The officer called out over his police radio that the suspect had a knife, and both officers yelled at Peter not to reach for anything.

El Mezquite market, 100 98th St. N.W.

Peter turned the corner of the building, which was El Mezquite market, heading south along the front of the business. Officers followed him and yelled at Peter to get on the ground. A sergeant called over the radio for someone to bring a less-lethal impact launcher. As Peter started to jog toward the entrance of the market, the sergeant yelled for officers not to allow him to enter the market. Officers started running as Peter turned into the entrance running inside.

Peter quickly approached an area near cash registers where employees and customers were standing or pushing shopping carts. Peter turned back toward officers with a handgun in his right hand. A pursuing officer yelled, “Tazer, Tazer, Tazer,” and he deployed his electronic control weapon, which made contact with Peter. As Peter was struck by the Tazer, he fired his handgun toward officers, which can be seen from the officer’s on-body recording device video and surveillance video. As Peter fell back he continued to fire his handgun. Investigators determined that Peter fired at least 13 shots.

Three officers returned gunfire toward Peter, and the officer who used his Tazer, transitioned back to his rifle and fired rounds at Peter. Peter was struck by multiple gun shots and he died at the scene. An autopsy revealed Peter retained 27 projectiles; one of those was a self-inflicted gunshot to his left thigh.

The gun that Peter used was a Taurus 9mm handgun. He also had knives around his waist and neck and another gun magazine with live rounds. A search of Peter’s car revealed one, 9mm round, 14, 45 auto rounds, and a black air soft gun.

A total of 59 bullet casings were located on scene – 45 from officers’ firearms and 13 from Peter’s firearm. One casing is still being analyzed.

SECOND SHOOTING WITH CIVILIANS BEING WOUNDED

During this incident officers responded to a stabbing reported at 9:23 p.m. on June 29th, 2023 at the McDonald’s located at 925 San Pedro Dr., N.E.

A McDonald’s surveillance camera showed the dark colored sedan pull up at 9:21 p.m. behind another vehicle at the drive-thru entrance. A man quickly exited the car from the passenger side door. He was dressed in black pants, black shirt with a pink or peach-colored backpack and white shoes. He sprinted away from the car and through the parking lot.

The victim of the stabbing, an adult man, was stabbed in the neck and the chin, and critically wounded. During a later interview with investigators, the victim said he picked up the man, later identified as Jeramiah Salyards, near a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant. The victim said he was trying to help the man out with a ride and offered to get him food, which he said he has done in the past for another homeless individual in the area. The victim told detectives the man appeared to be high on drugs and acted strangely as he drove him to McDonald’s to get him something to eat. When they entered the drive-through, the man blurted, “sorry,” and stabbed him before exiting the vehicle and running away. Officers responded within minutes and rendered aid to the victim. He was transported to a local hospital to treat his wounds. He has since been released from the hospital.

Lomas Blvd and Louisiana Blvd NE

About 2 ½ hours later, at 11:51 p.m., officers were alerted that a man matching the description of the stabbing suspect was seen near the intersection of Lomas Blvd. and Louisiana Blvd., N.E., which is less than 1 mile from the scene of the stabbing. The man was described as having a pink or peach backpack and holding a knife.

Officers who were still at the scene of the stabbing responded to the report of the possible suspect. Officers met on Lomas just south of the Burger King, located at 7101 Lomas Blvd., N.E. They noticed the peach-colored backpack on the sidewalk nearby and spotted the man in black clothing in the median on Louisiana Blvd., just to the north of the intersection.

Some officers started walking toward the man, which they determined to be the stabbing suspect, while others approached in their police cars and turned on their emergency lights. Officers who were on foot identified themselves as police officers as the man, later identified as Salyards, made his way across southbound lanes of traffic. Officers yelled at Salyards to drop the knife that was in his right hand or he would be shot.

Salyards slowed as he reached a group of three people who were at or near a bench at a bus top on the west sidewalk of Louisiana. As officers continued to yell for Salyards to stop and drop the knife, one of the three bystanders ran away to the south. The other two bystanders started to move in the same direction while Salyards appeared to confront them with the knife. At 11:56 p.m. Salyards started to run with the knife raised toward a bystander in a light blue jacket. After taking about two steps and closing distance, four officers fired their handguns toward Salyards. Salyards’ momentum carried him into the bystander who froze and then dropped to the ground. Salyards spun around and went to the ground a few feet in front of the bystander.

After the initial round of gunshots, officers yelled at Salyards to drop the knife he appeared to be still holding in his right hand as he lay on the ground turned on his right side. The bystander in the blue jacked appeared to be injured and tried to use his hands to push himself away from the injured Salyards. After about 35 seconds, Salyards suddenly rose to his knees with the knife in his hand and turned his body toward the bystander. Officers fired two more rounds, striking Salyards.

Salyards, a 25-year-old from Roswell, was identified days later following an autopsy by the Office of the Medical Examiner. Salyards died as a result of several gunshot wounds.

Two bystanders were also struck by gunfire from police. One bystander was shot in the leg. He was treated and released that night from the hospital. The bystander in the blue jacket was shot several times and suffered serious injuries. He was treated over several weeks at the hospital and is receiving additional care.

During a later interview with detectives, the bystander said he did not recall anyone approach him when he saw the bright lights of police vehicles and he heard police officers yelling to drop the knife. He said he was confused because he did not have a knife and he did not know why officers were telling him to drop a knife. He said he was struck several times by the gunfire while he was down on the ground. He did not recall seeing Salyards.

Salyards was a convicted felon who was released from prison within the past year after serving a three-year sentence for the violent stabbing in 2020 of a City of Albuquerque bus driver. During that 2020 incident, the bus driver pulled into the West Side Transit Center and noticed Salyards using a knife on the lock of the transit center’s bathroom. When the driver told Salyards he needed to leave, Salyards attacked him with the knife, stabbing him several times. Salyards was arrested and later convicted for the stabbing.

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