ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - A New Mexico sheriff’s department will pay $1.75 million to settle lawsuits stemming from a deputy’s fatal shooting of two unarmed suspects who authorities say had been in a stolen truck when they were killed.
Bernalillo County will pay the sum to resolve litigation in the November 2017 shooting, KRQE-TV reported Sunday after obtaining details of the settlement through a public records request.
The Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department said that Deputy Joshua Mora had pursued a stolen vehicle before opening fire on driver Isaac Padilla, 23, and passenger Martin Jim, 25. Mora had said he feared for the safety of colleagues when Padilla revved the engine after authorities had managed to force the truck off the road and corner it.
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Sheriff Manuel Gonzales has said Mora was justified in his decision to open fire. Mora declined to comment when reached by the news station.
The wrongful death litigation against the county included a December 2017 lawsuit filed on behalf of a woman who is the mother of Jim’s child. Her attorney Sam Bregman said Jim and Padilla had not posed a danger to authorities when they were shot.
Bregman also said that Mora, the son of Gonzales’ undersheriff, had benefited from special treatment from the sheriff’s department in multiple instances, including a time when Mora’s father urged a deputy teaching a driving class to pass his son.
The instructor, Deputy Leonard Armijo, testified as part of the litigation that he had concerns about whether Mora was ready to pass. The sheriff’s attorney countered that Armijo’s testimony was inconsistent.
The shooting of Jim and Padilla is among several use-of-force incidents that have sparked calls for Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputies to be equipped with body cameras, which the Albuquerque Police Department implemented years ago.
In another high-profile case, the sheriff’s department agreed to settle a lawsuit for nearly $1.5 million with the family of 88-year-old Fidencio Duran, of Albuquerque. He had died from pneumonia as a result of injuries suffered in September 2015, when deputies fired pepper balls at him and a police dog knocked him down.
Authorities said Duran had been carrying a knife in his neighborhood the day after his wife’s death when he came into contact with deputies.
Sheriff Gonzales has resisted the calls for body cameras, arguing that the devices are costly and not considered a priority among county residents who are more concerned about their safety. Gonzales said in November that he supports dash cameras, which his department has implemented in vehicles for some units.
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Information from: KRQE-TV, http://www.krqe.com
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