Suspects fire at cops, then arrested

Two suspects running from a stolen vehicle fired at police officers southwest of Downtown Monday afternoon, according to a spokesman for the Albuquerque Police Department.

Officer Simon Drobik said no officers were injured and they did not return fire.

After an hourslong SWAT standoff, the suspects surrendered and were taken into custody. APD said five people, four men and a woman, were arrested in connection with the incident. State Police had earlier said six suspects were in custody.

Drobik said around 4:20 p.m., APD and State Police officers on the auto-theft suppression multi-jurisdictional task force spotted a stolen vehicle with four people inside. He said the driver rammed the vehicle into a State Police cruiser and then all four got out.

Two of the suspects were arrested immediately and the other two fled, firing at officers as they ran, Drobik said.

He said those two men “hunkered down” in an apartment complex near 11th and Coal SW, and SWAT teams were called to the scene.

Drobik did not identify the suspects.

But Scott Chandler says the settlement terms have been sealed for six months.

The Chandlers filed the suit against the three officers after a June 2014 dispute in Deming. The Chandlers claimed defamation and assault after they were ejected from an event where the Republican governor was to appear.

The couple’s Tierra Blanca Ranch had been the focus of national media reports in 2013 following allegations of abuse and neglect at the ranch.

No charges were filed against Chandler or Tierra Blanca Ranch.