Officer Dominique Perez with his wife and three children

It all started On March 16, 2014 when . . .

two Albuquerque police officers responded to a complaint about a man camping illegally in the hills just behind a local residential neighborhood.

The officers encountered the man on a rocky hillside, and when they called him out of his tent and tried to pat him down for weapons, he pulled out two folding knives and began to wave them at the uniformed officers and threatening:

“This is gonna get bad; I’m already gonna kill you, try to hurt me.”

He followed the threats with other nonsensical comments that suggested he was mentally ill, while refusing to drop or surrender his knives.

Additional officers, including crisis intervention personnel, K-9s, and SWAT officers, were dispatched to the scene and the camper’s threats and the man’s weapons kept the officers at bay for hours while —less-lethal weapons—joined the effort, the man repeatedly threatened to kill officers while waving his knives menacingly.

Police learned on the scene the camper had a history of mental illness and an extensive criminal record, including violent assaults against police officers. As the standoff drew on into the late afternoon and darkness loomed, the assembled police designed a layered arrest plan involving a distraction device, a Taser, and one of the K-9s to detain the subject.

SWAT officer Dominique Perez was dispatched to the scene, leaving his birthday party his family had thrown for him. Officer Perez arrived on scene minutes before the arrest attempt began.

To ensure the safety of the fellow officers implementing the arrest plan, Officer Perez and a second officer were placed in positions to serve as cover, in the event lethal force was needed.

The arrest team did as planned, throwing an explosive distraction device, shooting a Taser weapon, and releasing the K-9 in trying to subdue the armed camper with minimal force. Each of these tools ultimately failed, leaving the approaching arrest team dangerously exposed when the man again pulled his knives and assumed a fighting stance.

At that moment, seeing members of the arrest team less than ten feet away from the combative, armed subject towering above them, Officer Perez and the other cover officer did precisely what their training and judgment required. Both officers fired almost simultaneously, fatally striking the camper.

As with many tactical situations where police use serious or deadly force, the images left behind are not pretty and open the door to the second-guessing of police tactics and intentions.

Worse still, in the polarized politics of the day—particularly in the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico—that second-guessing was taken to a new level when the district attorney—herself the subject of a police investigation for improper conduct—brought murder charges against Officer Perez and the second officer who fired his weapon on that March evening.

Remarkably, although the district attorney and her office were subsequently disqualified from prosecuting the case, she was able to appoint as a special prosecutor a civil rights attorney in private practice, who has sued numerous police officers, to carry on in her stead.

Officer Perez has been left to face all of his legal fees, as neither the city nor the police department cover any criminal defense costs, even when charges arise from acts taken in the line of duty. Moreover, when he was bound over for trial, Officer Perez was automatically terminated from his employment, eliminating his family’s main source of income.

Dominique Perez is a proud former U.S. Marine who was seriously wounded in an ambush attack while serving in Iraq in 2004. He sustained life-changing injuries in combat, for which he was awarded the Purple Heart.

With his military and prior law enforcement experience, he joined the Albuquerque Police Department in 2006 and was so trusted and respected that he served on the SWAT team for six years. Dominique married his high school sweetheart, with whom he has three beautiful children.

This wounded warrior, a true patriot with a wealth of experience and the admiration of his peers, deserves better. His wife and children deserve more than to see their loved one bear the weight of a second-degree murder charge that threatens to imprison him for decades. LELDF stands proudly behind Dominique Perez.

UPDATE — February 2017: Dominique’s September 2016 trial ended in a hung jury and a mistrial was declared. The jury was split, heavily leaning toward acquittal. In November 2016, the special prosecutor moved to dismiss the charges without prejudice while waiting for a new DA to make a final decision on the case. Meanwhile, The Albuquerque Journal published editorial opinions reflecting, in part, our sentiment about the case.

LELDF believes the Journal’s opinion didn’t go far enough and that Officer Perez should be put back to work with back pay and the costs of defending himself should be indemnified by the City of Albuquerque. Simply dropping the charges, charges we believe should never have been placed against him, and giving Officer Perez his job back hardly makes things right for him and his family financially.

Dominique and his family should have been put through the wringer and the emotional toll of this saga will be with them forever.

In January 2017, the new Albuquerque District Attorney asked several outside DAs to review the facts of the case. Finally, after far too much time and expense and suffering by Officer Perez and his family, the DA decided in February 2017 to dismiss all charges against him and the second officer.

Many lessons can certainly be taken from the tragic death of James Boyd almost three years ago, not the least of which regards the management of seriously mental ill persons living on the streets and hillsides across America. We at LELDF are saddened Mr. Boyd’s death, but we are clear-headed about the cold realities of police work and the risks officers face daily, including the risk of prosecution for following your training, experience, and plans made by others.

LELDF stands with Officer Perez and his long-suffering family.  Albuquerque: Give him back his job and pay the costs of defending his actions!