Posted 12/20/2021 (5:00PM)
NW and SW Albuquerque –
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office held a press conference today to brief the media on what happened during a December 7th, 2021 incident that involved deputies and Mario Armando Diaz.
Sheriff Manny Gonzales III and Captain Nicholas Huffmeyer revealed that Diaz was taken into custody at a neighbors apartment while deputies were conducting an interview with the victim. The victim was hiding in a neighbors apartment speaking with deputies when Diaz tried to enter the residence. Diaz was immediately taken into custody and handcuffed at the doorway.
Deputy Gallegos takes Diaz to his patrol unit while Deputy Feist remains upstairs with the victim to finish her investigation. Unknown to Deputy Gallegos the video shows Diaz slipped one cuff while in the back seat of Deputy Gallegos’s patrol unit. Diaz then pleads with deputy Gallegos to use the restroom while pretending he is still cuffed behind his back. Suspect Diaz then does a kicking motion toward the door of the unit and deputy. He then flees the unit and the deputy has a short foot pursuit. They go to the ground and start wrestling and Deputy Gallegos is able to radio for help. Deputy Feist upstairs hears the radio call and rushes to assist Deputy Gallegos who is an active fight with Diaz. Deputy Feist immediately tasers Diaz and tries to detain him. Audio from the body worn camera footage has Deputy Feist and Gallegos actively fighting and giving commands to Diaz. Diaz keeps saying, “We are human. We are human.” and pleads for them to let him go.
Towards the end of the video Deputy Feist calls out to Gallegos “my gun” as the investigation shows Diaz was trying to grab Deputy Feist’s gun. When Deputy Dereck Gallegos hears this he stands up for a tactical advantage and fires two shots striking Diaz. Diaz was declared dead at the scene.
Suspect Mario Armando Diaz who was shot by BCSO Deputy
According to court records, Diaz had a criminal record dating back to 2003. The most recent arrest in 2020 was an aggravated battery against a household member against the same victim and also drug possession. According to a criminal complaint in 2020, Diaz was choking his girlfriend. Those charges were dismissed because the victim did not want to proceed with charges. The 2020 aggravated battery was at the same location where Diaz was shot and killed. It involved the same victim.
INCIDENT DEBRIEF BY SHERIFF GONZALES AND BODY WORN VIDEO FOOTAGE HERE: