Two officers face murder charges for the killing of a homeless man last year in the hills around the city. The homeless man took to the hills after the shelter he was in closed down for the winter, though staying overnight in the hills is illegal. Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez were called to the scene and, after spending an hour talking to the man, used bean-bag loaded shotguns and K9 dogs to subdue him after he turned his back on them, and he died later from his injuries. There have been protesters out voicing that the Police Department in Albuquerque used "excessive force" too often, citing that 26 people had been shot by the Police Department in the last year.
This situation (though the charges themselves are old), highlights the growing use of Police violence in extraordinary cases, similar to how they were used to subdue the Civil Rights activities in the early 20th Century. The officers were wearing body cameras, which should help clear up the story, and even though they only used non-lethal rounds, the K9 dog, smoke grenade, and even just the officers deciding to shoot could be argue to be excessive use of force on essentially what was just a trespassing violation.
Source: http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/12/us/albuquerque-police-murder-charges/index.html
I'm wondering if police violence is not, in fact, a new developing trend, but rather has been occurring for years and is only just now getting covered by the media.
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