Officer in Boyd case back at APD
Perez is on admin duty, with back wages of $143K
Dominique Perez, an officer involved in the controversial shooting death of a homeless man three years ago, is back on the force, according to an Albuquerque Police Department spokeswoman.
Celina Espinoza said Monday evening that Perez was reinstated on May 30 after he was fired from APD over the shooting death of James Boyd in March 2014.
Perez “has been reinstated with the Albuquerque Police Department and is currently on administrative assignment with the Tactical Unit,” Espinoza said in an email. “As part of the agreement, Ofc. Perez will not respond to calls with the unit or provide any type of patrol services for one year.”
She said Perez will receive $143,159 in back wages, which includes Albuquerque’s cost of benefits associated with the wages.
Perez must complete all of APD’s new training related to the city’s settlement agreement with the Justice Department, in addition to staterequired training, and pass a psychological exam.
Perez was on the SWAT team when he and now-retired detective Keith Sandy fatally shot the 38-year-old Boyd after a standoff in the Sandia foothills on March 16, 2014, where Boyd had been illegally camping.
The two officers faced second-degree murder charges for the shooting but their 15-day trial ended in mid-October with a jury deadlocked 9-3 for acquittal.
District Attorney Raúl Torrez said in February he would not retry the officers, saying he doubted a second jury would reach a different outcome.
Both officers said during the trial that Boyd, who was armed with two pocketknives, threatened fellow officers.
Sandy and Perez were the first Albuquerque police officers to face charges in a shooting in at least 50 years.