APD releases video of chaotic standoff, police shooting in SW Albuquerque
By: Albuquerque police revealed new details and video Wednesday of officers involved in a shooting in late March.
It started with a man firing gunshots into the sky and unfolded into a flurry of bullets, a pursuit, and a brief hostage situation. Despite the chaos, APD leaders say there are positive takeaways.
Police suspect 32-year-old Francisco Macias was high on narcotics when he reportedly assaulted his mom and aunt inside a home in southwest Albuquerque, just moments before firing his gun outside.
Neighbor’s 911 call: “Yeah, we need the cops over here, as soon as possible, they’re shooting.”
About half a dozen officers arrived at the scene, running into a brief standoff. Aerial video shows Macias and two bystanders – who were trying to intervene – hiding behind a truck. That’s when police say Macias raised his gun again, and they did the same.
Police say five officers fired a total of 36 shots at the truck. No one was hit, allowing Macias to run into the backyard, and one of the bystanders to wrestle his gun away.
“That victim was able to take Francisco’s gun from him and threw it over a fence into a neighboring yard,” said APD Commander Kyle Hartsock.
Police video shows Macias taking off into a different yard – he approaches a man on the ground, likely avoiding gunfire.
Officers took off on foot, scaling several fences to get to Macias and uncovering a hostage situation.
“An officer fired a less than lethal 14-millimeter ammunition round at Francisco in an attempt to get him to release the hostage, but it did not appear to be effective,” said Hartsock.
So they used a Tazer and it was over.
Macias was arrested and booked into jail.
Albuquerque police confirmed Wednesday Macias was later released from jail, and all charges against him have been dropped at the request of the victims.
Police noted the two bystanders involved in this incident were visibly concerned for his well-being.
APD Chief Harold Medina also highlighted how officers transitioned to less lethal force options as the incident played out, and believes it’s a sign ongoing reform efforts are working.
“There are a lot of those things that the officers did today, did on this day in particular, that really lead to what we’ve been trying to change,” said Medina. “We have to recognize the improvements they’ve made, and how we are moving much faster in this process than our settlement agreement has allowed us.”
Police revealed a projectile was removed from Macias’ foot after the shooting, but it’s still unclear if it came from his gun or police.