Bullets hitting a preschool raise camera issue — again
It was a dangerous situation that easily could have ended in tragedy. Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office detectives attempting to apprehend a wanted man fired their weapons, striking a nearby day care center.
Fortunately, no bystanders were hit during the Aug. 6 incident. The suspect, 36-year-old Carlos Ochoa, was struck in the buttocks and arm and hospitalized at University of New Mexico Hospital. He was wanted on felony warrants for trafficking a controlled substance, aggravated assault and resisting or eluding officers. There’s no question this was a fluid situation. Sheriff Manuel Gonzales told reporters undercover detectives with the Fugitive Apprehension and Surveillance Team unit were looking for Ochoa and found him at the Bow & Arrow Lodge on Central and Utah SE. As detectives determined how to apprehend him, Ochoa walked out and identified the detectives.
Gonzales said Ochoa fled the motel, and as detectives were chasing him, he pulled a gun from his waistband. Gonzales says detectives fired four rounds; two struck Ochoa and two pierced the wall and door frame at Kingdom Builders Pre School & Day Care. Children and adults were inside. In hindsight, most would agree giving chase to a suspect near a day care is a bad idea. The risk of a child being caught in the crossfire isn’t worth it.
Of course detectives didn’t have the benefit of hindsight, having been forced to make a split-second decision.
Still, given BCSO’s recent history, and Gonzales’ patent refusal to adopt lapel cams to record both deputy and civilian actions, this incident adds to a troubling pattern.
It’s the fourth deputy-involved shooting this year. In February, a sergeant injured Adrian Chacon after a pursuit in the South Valley. In June, a deputy shot a woman holed up in her East Mountain home and reportedly shooting at deputies. Last month, deputies on a U.S. Marshals Service task force shot and killed Wes Allen in the parking lot of a Motel 6. Last year, BCSO had a spike in shootings — five killed, three wounded and two others shot at but not hit.
This comes amidst a policy change allowing deputies to initiate more car chases, resulting in a massive rise in high-speed chases, including a death Friday. Given BCSO’s escalating use of deadly force and more aggressive chase tactics, it’s past time deputies wore on-body cameras. This isn’t the first time we’ve urged this action, but given the increase in shootings and car chases — which raises the danger for suspects, bystanders and deputies — it’s more critical than ever to increase the documentation of whether BCSO actions are warranted.