Las Cruces police: Bicyclist shot 3 to 4 times

LAS CRUCES — A Las Cruces police sergeant fired at least three to four gunshots at a 29-year-old bicyclist last week, striking the man at least that many times, police Chief Patrick Gallagher said Thursday.

Speaking at a news conference, Gallagher offered preliminary information about the April 27 shooting, now the subject of an investigation by a multiagency task force and a separate internal probe by the Las Cruces Police Department.

Although he cautioned that the information is subject to change, Gallagher said the bicyclist, identified as Myron Oveide, remained in “critical” condition at a Las Cruces hospital. That appeared at odds with a description of the man’s condition from earlier this week, when police said he was in “serious but stable” condition.

A police officer driving in a marked patrol unit encountered Oveide, who was riding a mountain bike, shortly before 10 p.m., Gallagher said. The officer attempted to conduct a traffic stop on Oveide, Gallagher said, “for an issue related to the safe operation of the bicycle.”

Gallagher did not elaborate on the safety issue, saying it was still under investigation. “That’s being determined and part of the investigation — exactly what the reason was for this stop,” he said.

The officer later issued verbal commands ordering Oveide to stop and activated the emergency equipment on his vehicle, according to Gallagher, but Oveide did not comply with the officer’s commands and continued to ride the bike.

“He evaded the officer for several blocks,” Gallagher said.

At Chaparro and Gardner streets, the officer exited his vehicle, pursued Oveide on foot and eventually “engaged” him as a means to “physically stop him,” Gallagher said. “As a result, they both ended up on the ground for reasons unknown as this time,” he said.

At the time, Oveide “produced a handgun,” possibly from his waist, Gallagher said as he pointed to four screenshots of the weapon taken from the officer’s body camera.

Video of incident will be released after the investigations are completed, police said.

The officer made several attempts to wrestle the gun from Oveide, Gallagher said. Two screenshots show the officer’s hand grasping for the gun in what Gallagher said was an attempt to move it out of his direction or prevent it from being pointed at a Las Cruces police sergeant who arrived on the scene.

“Almost simultaneously, with these pictures here, the sergeant fired three to four rounds at the cyclist,” Gallagher said. “The cyclist was struck three to four times.”

Afterward, the officers moved the gun to a “safe distance” and began rendering first aid to Oveide, who was later transported to MountainView Regional Medical Center, Gallagher said.

When investigators from the multiagency Officer-Involved Incident Task Force arrived at the location and processed the crime scene, Gallagher said, they discovered that the weapon Oveide purportedly produced was a BB gun that resembled a full-size SIG Sauer 1911 handgun.

When asked if the BB gun was loaded, Gallagher said, “I don’t know at this point.”

While it is unclear if possessing that particular style of BB gun is legal, a police spokesman said discharging a firearm — real or not — is illegal within the city limits.