Autopsy: Man shot by APD hit 11 times
Man defied officers’ orders, appeared to reach for gun
A 57-year-old homeless man who was killed by Albuquerque Police Department officers in August was shot 11 times, according to an autopsy report released to the Journal.
“Autopsy examination revealed the body of an adult male with numerous gunshot wounds of the neck, trunk and extremities,” an examiner with the Office of the Medical Investigator wrote in the report. “There are extensive injuries to the internal organs, including liver, aorta, lung, and spine of the neck, many of which are lethal.”
The manner of death was reported as homicide.
Roger Schafer had reportedly been waving around a gun — later determined to be a BB gun — at a bus stop on Eubank near Copper NE on Aug. 22. Multiple people called 911 to say he was tossing it from hand to hand, “pulling the action back” and pointing it at traffic.
By the time officers arrived in the busy area — congested with traffic and visitors to the nearby Walmart — Schafer was lying on the sidewalk, his arms over his eyes, using his belongings as a pillow.
Five officers approached on foot, fanned out in formation, with their guns drawn.
In lapel camera video released last month, the officers can be heard ordering Schafer to show his hands and not to reach for a gun. He didn’t comply and instead cursed at them as he pushed himself up onto the bus stop bench, appearing to grab at a gun tucked into his waistband.
One officer fired a 40 mm rubber bullet, a less lethal option, and less than a second later, officers Paul Durham, Kyle King and Randy Serrano opened fire, killing Schafer. At least 15 rounds were found at the scene. At a media briefing last month, Lt. Scott Norris of the Violent Crimes Section said the multi-agency task force investigation is ongoing and the shooting will also be evaluated by the Force Review Board.