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Video: NM officer charged for deploying TASER

Investigators reviewed video from the lapel cameras of officers involved in a May 31 drug bust

Las Cruces Sun-News

ALBUQUERQUE — An Albuquerque police officer is facing battery charges for using a stun gun on one suspect and punching another after he had surrendered.

Police Chief Ray Schultz said Thursday the charges were filed after investigators reviewed video from the lapel cameras of officers involved in a May 31 drug bust. He announced the charges the same time he publicly released the video.

The video shows two officers entering an apartment without a warrant, then using their Taser guns on one suspect. After another suspect tried to run away, an officer put his foot on his face while another officer, Connor Rice, punched him.

Rice faces charges of battery and aggravated battery.

The charges come as the department is under fire for an alleged pattern of excessive force. Albuquerque officers have shot 25 people since 2010, 17 fatally.

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