Police in Albuquerque, New Mexico, say a man shot in the back by a police officer during a burglary investigation on Sunday is in a stable condition.
Simon Drobik, a spokesman for Albuquerque police department, told the Associated Press that the officer’s gun went off accidentally as he climbed through the broken window of a second-floor apartment. The bullet went through the floor and hit the man, whose identity has not yet been released, in the back.
Since 2010 there have been at least 40 shootings by police officers in Albuquerque, 26 of them fatal. A Department of Justice investigation into the cultures and practices of the Albuquerque police department in April found a “pattern” of excessive and deadly force.
“Albuquerque police officers often use deadly force in circumstances where there is no imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm to officers or others. Instead, officers used deadly force against people who posed a minimal threat, including individuals who posed a threat only to themselves or who were unarmed,” the report said.
It also found that a significant amount of violence by Albuquerque police was directed at those with mental illnesses, that commanding officers rarely, if ever, reviewed or investigated killings by police, and that officers’ own “recklessness” led them into situations where deadly force might otherwise have been avoided.
Following that report, the city of Albuquerque signed a deal with the Justice Department to reform its practices in October.
The agreement, which is legally binding, required the city to add new use-of-force requirements and investigation procedures, new training for officers, and changes in organisational structure.
It also included the appointment of a monitor who will oversee the reforms.
