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Law Enforcement Turns Out In Force For APD Protest

Marisa Demarco / KUNM
Officers in riot gear at Fourth Street and Lomas in Albuquerque on October 12, 2016

Demonstrators protested police violence in downtown Albuquerque on Wednesday, Oct. 12, a day after a hung jury resulted in a mistrial in the murder trial of two former APD officers who shot and killed James Boyd.  

Choppers hovered overhead and at times there were 50 to 100 protesters. Law enforcement turned out in force and at one point, three city buses pulled up in front the courthouses where demonstrators had gathered and at least 60 riot police jumped out and formed a line.

Torrance Green said he’s been to all the protests in Albuquerque in the last couple of years, and he’d never seen anything like it.

"I mean to see the number and the total power that they tried to flex and force on us considering that we’re a small group," Green said. "What, one for every one of us was out here? That was sickening. And that we haven’t shown a weapon. Nobody’s broken a bottle. Nothing but signs and water bottles in our hands."

Demonstrators called for justice for Boyd, who had a mental illness and was homeless when he was killed after an hours-long standoff in 2014. 

Marisa Demarco began a career in radio at KUNM News in late 2013 and covered public health for much of her time at the station. During the pandemic, she is also the executive producer for Your NM Government and No More Normal, shows focused on the varied impacts of COVID-19 and community response, as well as racial and social justice. She joined Source New Mexico as editor-in-chief in 2021.
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