ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The city of Albuquerque is being sued for a deadly officer-involved shooting.
Police say 24-year-old Daniel Saavedra threatened officers at a southeast Albuquerque apartment complex two years ago with a knife and a metal pipe. Police did use a taser, but two seconds after the taser was deployed, four other officers fired a total of 17 rounds.
Attorney Shannon Kennedy filed this wrongful death lawsuit last week on behalf of Saavedra’s sister, claiming officers created a situation where they were forced to use deadly force.
Kennedy says officers should have also contacted family or friends of Saavedra’s to identify that he was mentally ill. In response to the lawsuit, the Albuquerque Police Department says officers made several attempts to communicate with Saavedra over a PA system before going into the apartment.