Police ID man shot, killed in August

Officers fired at homeless man waving a gun near a bus stop

Police identified the man shot and killed in an officer-involved shooting outside a Northeast area shopping center in August as 57-year-old Roger Schafer.

Albuquerque Police Department spokesman Gilbert Gallegos told the Journal on Monday it took so long to identify Schafer because he was homeless.

He was shot and killed near a bus stop on Eubank NE near Copper around 3 p.m. on Aug. 22, when “multiple officers” fired after police say Schafer was waving a gun.

APD Deputy Chief Harold Medina told reporters in a news briefing shortly after the shooting that officers fired after “some sort of altercation.” Schafer died on scene.

At the time, Medina said no officers were injured, but it was too early in the investigation to say whether Schafer was armed or had fired at officers.

Police have still not released any other details about the shooting, but have scheduled a news briefing on the incident for Friday morning.

Three months before he was killed, Schafer had another run in with APD officers when he was shot with a rubber bullet.

In May, officers were dispatched to the 3200 block of Central near Wellesley on reports of a man who was threatening people with an ax outside a restaurant.

According to a criminal com

plaint filed in Metropolitan Court, Schafer did not listen to officer’s commands to get down on the ground and put his hands behind his back, telling them “no, I will not.”

He was shot with a rubber bullet after police say he held up the middle finger while walking toward officers.

After turning around and walking away, Schafer complied with officer’s commands and was taken into custody. According to the complaint, he said he told officers he did not do anything wrong and that he had found the ax on the ground.

Police say they found the ax in a nearby shopping cart Schafer was using.

In 2017, Schafer was charged with unlawful propulsion of missiles after police say he fired a BB gun at a building.

According to court documents, Schafer told officers he was trying to shoot and kill pigeons “for revenge” because they had defecated on his head.