U.S. Judge Orders Cops Who Killed a Homeless Man to Stand Trial

After a four hour stand off with 19 police officers, James Boyd was shot dead because he was believed to be making “threatening moves.”

A judge in the southern U.S. state of New Mexico ruled Tuesday that the police officers who shot and killed a homeless man with schizophrenia in 2014 must stand trial for his death.

Officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez from the Albuquerque Police Department will now be prosecuted for the death of James Boyd, who they shot and killed while trying to evacuate him from his illegal camping spot in the Sandia Mountains.

The evacuation turned into a four hour stand off between 19 police officers and Boyd, and ended with Boyd being shot several times.

An alarming video of the standoff taken from one of the officer's body cams has been circulating the internet. The video shows Boyd speaking to police officers in a mild manner some 30 feet away, then bends over to gather his belongings and appears to be ready to follow the officers. A policeman's voice is then heard saying, “Do it” and a flash device is fired at Boyd, which disorients him.

Police then start running towards him shouting, while Boyd seemingly pulls out two knives from his pockets and refuses to drop them. Boyd – who suffered from schizophrenia – then turns his back to police, at which time officers fire several times.

More alarmingly, as police approach Boyd, who is now lying face down on the ground, you can hear his barely audible voice say, “I can't move” and “Please, don't hurt me anymore.”

However, when he fails to put his hands near his head as the officers demand, they continue to fire on him.        

Pro Tem Judge Neil Candelaria said Tuesday that there was probable cause for the case against Perez and Sandy.

Special prosecutor Randi McGinnn accused the officers of approaching the campsite with the intent of confronting the homeless man with a “paramilitary response” that created a dangerous situation, reported the Washington Post.

The two officers, however, argue that their actions were justified, saying Boyd put the officers' lives in jeopardy when he wielded two knives in the air and made “threatening moves.”