By Jeff Proctor
Albuquerque Journal
BERNALILLO COUNTY, NM — A Bernalillo County grand jury has found that Albuquerque Police officer Josh Brown was justified in shooting Enrique Carrasco after a domestic violence incident in August, according to the District Attorney’s Office.
Brown, a two-year APD veteran, shot Carrasco seven times: three times in the back, twice in the top of the head, once in the back of the head and once in the forehead, according to an autopsy report obtained by the Journal on Monday.
With the grand jury findings now public, an APD Internal Affairs investigation into the shooting began this week, police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said Monday.
The incident began shortly after 6 p.m. Aug. 17 in the parking lot of the Ross discount store on Montgomery and San Mateo, police said. Callers told police a man and a woman were arguing. They said Carrasco, a city employee who had a prior felony conviction for biting and breaking a deputy’s finger, slashed the tires on the pickup his 7-year-old daughter was in, police said.
The fight between Carrasco, 38, and his girlfriend, which started during a back-to-school shopping trip, had turned violent, according to police.
When officers arrived, Carrasco had run eastbound on Montgomery. Brown spotted him near Del Norte High School and pulled in front of him in a patrol car, police said. Carrasco jumped on the hood of Brown’s vehicle and began jabbing at the driver’s side window with the knife. Police said at the time that Carrasco had broken the window out during the altercation.
According to the autopsy report, the shot that struck Carrasco in the forehead “initially struck an intermediary target containing glass.”
A “tug of war” between Brown and Carrasco ensued as Carrasco attempted to open the door and Brown fought him off, police said at the time.
Hoffman said the autopsy report was “consistent with the officer’s statements” about the shooting.
Eventually, Brown shot Carrasco multiple times. Carrasco’s body fell hunched over Brown, trapping him, according to police. Another officer had to move the body.
Carrasco was pronounced dead at the scene.
“Autopsy revealed multiple (seven) perforating and penetrating gunshot wounds of the head, neck and thorax,” the report states. “Significant associated injuries include massive disruption of the brain and perforating injuries of the lungs and heart.”
Carrasco was a maintenance worker at the Palo Duro Senior Center near San Mateo and Comanche NE.
He was hired three years ago, officials said.
Carrasco was arrested in 2000 after he bit and broke the finger of a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy, according to a police report. He was eventually convicted of aggravated battery on a peace officer.
Copyright 2011 Albuquerque Journal