Man Aims Rifle at Albuquerque Police, Gets Shot In Groin (Officer Whitten BWC)

(The action in this video picks up at roughly 21:45. Of the four videos I posted from this incident, I strongly recommend watching at least the intro to the longest of them.)

On August 19, 2018 Albuquerque Police Department received word that suicidal man armed with a gun was threatening to kill his neighbors at 219 Dallas NE. When APD responded at approximately 1:53 p.m. they found 38-year-old Joe Lambert walking into and out of his apartment, sometimes armed with a rifle and frequently yelling at officers that they should kill him.

Officers trained in crisis negotiation spent approximately one and a half hours trying to negotiate with Lambert, successfully reaching him by cell phone around 2:30 pm. At first a female negotiator was in contact with Lambert, but when he began to complain about relationship issues it was decided to have a male negotiator continue. Lambert was described as “very hyped up” and officers had trouble getting him to stay in contact with them, and at approximately 4:00 pm Lambert simply emerged from his apartment bearing his rifle, and instead of ‘just’ yelling at police officers to kill him (as before) he instead raised his rifle and aimed directly at Officer Ian Ross, who fired three shots at Lambert in response. One of those shots struck the rifle Lambert was holding. Lambert continued to walk toward officers still holding his firearm and attempting to aim at officers; in response Officer Richard Whitten fired two additional rounds at Lambert.

Incredibly, one of Whitten’s rounds also struck Lambert’s rifle, but this round ricocheted and hit Lambert in his groin.

I am publishing all of the four primary body-worn camera videos from this incident. They are long, but portions of each capture extremely valuable scenes and conversations, both before and after the metaphorical heat turned up. Additionally, although certain footage has been blurred [for reasons that will become obvious], this is one of the most dramatic examples I have seen of officers rushing to help someone they were just forced to fire upon.

Lambert was treated for his injuries at a local hospital, following which he was booked into Albuquerque’s Metropolitan Detention Center (“MDC”) on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and two counts of assault on a peace officer. Lambert had an extensive criminal history at the time of this incident, including ten DUI arrests and an already-pending case for aggravated battery and burglary.

Neither Officer Whitten nor Officer Ross had ever before been involved in a shooting. Whitten has been an officer for eleven years while Ross has been with Albuquerque Police Department for three years.

** (Disclaimer: This video content is intended for educational and informational purposes only) **