Expert says Abq. police did not alter shooting videos

ALBUQUERQUE — A police expert said video evidence from a fatal New Mexico police shooting investigation case was not tampered with.

The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that it had obtained from the city the January report by video evidence expert and former law enforcement officer Grant Fredericks.

The report is part of the ongoing investigation in Mary Hawkes’ 2014 shooting. Former Albuquerque police officer Jeremy Dear has said he shot the 19-year-old after she pointed a gun at him. Fredericks’ report supports Dear’s claim.

“I have also formed the opinion that the object she is carrying is consistent with the size, shape and reflective values of the gun that was seized from the sidewalk next to her body at the time of the shooting,” Fredericks said in the report.

The Journal reported Friday that another expert and former police officer working for Hawkes’ family, Kevin Angell, suspected that the video evidence had been altered. Angell noted in his sworn affidavit that video titles began with “clip,” which is how the website Evidence.com, where the videos were uploaded, identifies altered videos.

Fredericks’ report acknowledges that the videos are titled as “clips,” but insists that the videos filed as evidence are the original recordings. City officials have said that all relevant video footage has been made public and that the video analysis shows that the shooting was justified.