Video above: The family of Matthew Garcia demanded answers at Monday's City Council meeting over the fatal shooting of their son near Tewa Lodge on Friday, Oct. 18. Members of the community also raised concerns over the officer-involved shooting involving Albuquerque police. According to the APD, Garcia was shot and killed by an APD officer after "a confrontation" ensued. APD stated Garcia was in possession of a handgun when the shooting occurred.MORE: Man killed during police cleanup operation in Albuquerque"They didn't have to kill him. They didn't have to kill my son. We are devastated by what had happened to our son from being in the back of that vehicle and not being searched before he was put in that vehicle, and not being searched before he was put in that vehicle was uncalled for," Garcia's father, Fred Garcia, said during Monday's City Council meeting. "Why have we not been told about our son? Why? We found out through the people on the streets. We went up there and we weren't allowed to cross the line, I feel like they crossed the line with my son," Garcia's mother, Bernadette Garcia, said. "The sound. It keeps ringing in my ears of hearing the gun go off, not by one, but two officers. Justice for our son, Solo Matthew Garcia, thank you all. May God bless you, and may God have mercy on those officers that took our son's life."KOAT asked the APD and its chief administrative officer, Samantha Sengel, if the department is still confident with the Department of Justice's consent considering the amount of officer-involved shootings this past year involving the APD, including the most recent at Tewa Lodge, which has raised concerns among the community. A spokesperson for the APD sent the following statement below:"The settlement agreement was created to address a pattern and practice of use of force. All recent reports have stated there is no longer a pattern or practice of excessive use of deadly force. This latest incident occurred days ago. It will take months to investigate. Also keep in mind the DOJ contracted independent experts last year to look at the 18 officer involved shootings in 2022 and concluded there was not a pattern or practice issue."We released limited OBRD video and still shots on Sunday of this information because inaccurate statements about the shooting were being posted on social media. We will release additional details, like we always do, after officer interviews and after preliminary details are ready to be released," said spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.Related: Albuquerque police chief addresses Tewa Lodge shootingA spokesperson for the CAO sent the following statement below: "The City is confident in the systems in place at APD which have been validated by the Department of Justice CASA.""We will discuss, as in this case any issues related to a misstep or any issues once an investigation is complete. We'll discuss whether there is a training issue, whether there is a need for a policy change. We will go through all of those steps," Sengel said during Monday's City Council meeting."What I've seen in the 120 seconds of footage is an excessive and unjustified use of deadly force. Release the footage, fire the officers and give Solo's family and our community the justice that we deserve, justice for Solo Garcia now," A member of the community said during Monday's City Council meeting.APD released limited body camera footage of Friday's OIS during a preliminary briefing on Sunday, Oct. 20. "As they handcuffed the individual, they begin to search him. The individual becomes very combative. We've asked our officers to de-escalate situations. We ask them to avoid the use of force. So, they put this person in the car as quickly as they could to try to alleviate any further issues," APD Chief Media said during Sunday's press conference."They recognized that they hadn't conducted a full search of this individual. They spoke to him for 45 minutes, and not at one point in time did this individual say, I have a firearm on myself," Medina added.In the body camera footage released by APD, the officer asks Garcia, "What do you have in your hand, dude?" Garcia replies, "A gun." Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.
Video above: The family of Matthew Garcia demanded answers at Monday's City Council meeting over the fatal shooting of their son near Tewa Lodge on Friday, Oct. 18. Members of the community also raised concerns over the officer-involved shooting involving Albuquerque police. According to the APD, Garcia was shot and killed by an APD officer after "a confrontation" ensued. APD stated Garcia was in possession of a handgun when the shooting occurred.
MORE: Man killed during police cleanup operation in Albuquerque
"They didn't have to kill him. They didn't have to kill my son. We are devastated by what had happened to our son from being in the back of that vehicle and not being searched before he was put in that vehicle, and not being searched before he was put in that vehicle was uncalled for," Garcia's father, Fred Garcia, said during Monday's City Council meeting.
"Why have we not been told about our son? Why? We found out through the people on the streets. We went up there and we weren't allowed to cross the line, I feel like they crossed the line with my son," Garcia's mother, Bernadette Garcia, said. "The sound. It keeps ringing in my ears of hearing the gun go off, not by one, but two officers. Justice for our son, Solo Matthew Garcia, thank you all. May God bless you, and may God have mercy on those officers that took our son's life."
KOAT asked the APD and its chief administrative officer, Samantha Sengel, if the department is still confident with the Department of Justice's consent considering the amount of officer-involved shootings this past year involving the APD, including the most recent at Tewa Lodge, which has raised concerns among the community.
A spokesperson for the APD sent the following statement below:
"The settlement agreement was created to address a pattern and practice of use of force. All recent reports have stated there is no longer a pattern or practice of excessive use of deadly force. This latest incident occurred days ago. It will take months to investigate. Also keep in mind the DOJ contracted independent experts last year to look at the 18 officer involved shootings in 2022 and concluded there was not a pattern or practice issue.
"We released limited OBRD video and still shots on Sunday of this information because inaccurate statements about the shooting were being posted on social media. We will release additional details, like we always do, after officer interviews and after preliminary details are ready to be released," said spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.
Related: Albuquerque police chief addresses Tewa Lodge shooting
A spokesperson for the CAO sent the following statement below:
"The City is confident in the systems in place at APD which have been validated by the Department of Justice CASA."
"We will discuss, as in this case any issues related to a misstep or any issues once an investigation is complete. We'll discuss whether there is a training issue, whether there is a need for a policy change. We will go through all of those steps," Sengel said during Monday's City Council meeting.
"What I've seen in the 120 seconds of footage is an excessive and unjustified use of deadly force. Release the footage, fire the officers and give Solo's family and our community the justice that we deserve, justice for Solo Garcia now," A member of the community said during Monday's City Council meeting.
APD released limited body camera footage of Friday's OIS during a preliminary briefing on Sunday, Oct. 20.
"As they handcuffed the individual, they begin to search him. The individual becomes very combative. We've asked our officers to de-escalate situations. We ask them to avoid the use of force. So, they put this person in the car as quickly as they could to try to alleviate any further issues," APD Chief Media said during Sunday's press conference.
"They recognized that they hadn't conducted a full search of this individual. They spoke to him for 45 minutes, and not at one point in time did this individual say, I have a firearm on myself," Medina added.
In the body camera footage released by APD, the officer asks Garcia, "What do you have in your hand, dude?" Garcia replies, "A gun."
Stay updated on the latest news updates with the KOAT app. You can download it here.