Officer who shot undercover detective remains on leave

An Albuquerque police lieutenant who shot an undercover officer in a drug bust gone wrong remains on administrative leave three weeks after the shooting, which is significantly longer than most officers spend away from the department after they fire their weapons.

Police said the investigation is continuing, and that Lt. Greg Brachle is not on leave for punitive reasons.

“As is normal with all officer-involved shootings, Lt. Brachle is currently working with our behavioral science division to determine when he can return to normal duty,” APD spokesman Tanner Tixier said.

Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said in the wake of the shooting that Brachle was “devastated” after shoot-

ing a fellow officer, Detective Jacob Grant, on Jan. 9, and that Brachle was getting counseling through the department.

Grant was working alongside another undercover officer in an attempt to purchase $60 worth of methamphetamine in a McDonald’s parking lot near Central and Tramway. After making the purchase, the predetermined bust signal was given.

But before an arrest could be made, police said one of the suspects pulled a pellet gun that looked like a real gun, and Grant broke his cover. Those events led to the shooting by Brachle, who supervises the narcotics unit.

Police have said Grant is continuing to improve but remains hospitalized and only recently regained consciousness and started to speak.

On Thursday, Tixier declined to release any more information about Brachle’s current circumstances. He has been interviewed by investigators about the shooting, but police haven’t released details about what he said or the perceived threat.

Albuquerque police officers involved in shootings have to be evaluated to determine if they are fit to return to duty. Officers involved in shootings after Brachle have already returned to duty.

On Jan. 14, officers Matthew Fisher and Michael Oates fatally shot John Edward Okeefe during a foot chase on San Mateo and Constitution NE. Police said Okeefe was armed with a revolver and wearing body armor, and he fired at officers twice during the chase. Both the gun and the armor had been stolen from a Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Tixier said Fisher has returned to normal duty and Oates, who is a certified bomb technician, is on temporary assignment to the police’s bomb squad.

Police are still investigating that shooting. Fisher recorded the shooting with his lapel camera, while Oates did not, according to KOAT-TV.