Body camera footage shows short foot chase before police shooting

By Ryan Boetel / Journal Staff Writer Published: Monday, June 5th, 2023 at 5:24PMUpdated: Monday, June 5th, 2023 at 5:50PM

After receiving reports of gunshots fired in a southeast Albuquerque neighborhood, Albuquerque Police Officer Alex Castellano saw a suspect walking next to an apartment complex and called out to him.

"My man, come here, police department," Castellano said.

A few seconds later the man made a run for it, and Castellano gave chase, before police and the suspect exchanged gunfire.

Albuquerque police on Monday released on-body camera footage and additional information about the May 10 shooting, when Castellano and Sgt. Francisco Hernandez fired at Kevin Trujillo, 33, who was hit in the back shoulder and injured.

Trujillo surrendered to a police SWAT team hours later and has been charged with aggravated assault on a peace officer, tampering with evidence, resisting arrest and negligent use of a deadly weapon. He remains jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center, where a judge ruled he will remain until his trial.

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At around 7:30 p.m., police were called to the 5400 block of Eastern SE because of a ShotSpotter activation, Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock said during a Monday briefing on the shooting.

About 10 minutes later, police heard shots to their north and another ShotSpotter activation indicated there were three more shots fired near the corner of Palomas and Kathryn SE.

Shortly after that, Castellano and Hernandez saw Trujillo walking next to an apartment building. That's when Castellano called out to Trujillo before chasing after him on the 5700 block of Kathryn.

Hartsock said Trujillo started to pull what appeared to grab a gun from his waistband and Castellano shot at Trujillo, apparently injuring Trujillo.

Second later, Trujillo ducked into an alleyway, the video showed. Castellano and Hernandez continued to chase and exchange gunfire before Trujillo manages to escape and hide until he's arrested later that night.

Castellano "said Trujillo fired four shots in rapid succession, and he heard the shots snap by his head," according to a police summary of the shooting.

Hartsock said Trujillo's mother told police her son is homeless and schizophrenic.

She said he went to her home after the shooting and was armed with two guns and had been shot. She said she didn't let her son enter her home.

"Video can be a very powerful piece of evidence, but it doesn't always show the whole story," Leon Richter-Freund, Trujillo's attorney, said in a statement. "It's important to remember that people are presumed innocent until they are proven guilty in court."

A firearm Trujillo is believed to have used in the incident had been reported stolen in a residential burglary the day before the shooting, according to police. The gun is not believed to be linked to other shootings, Hartsock said.

Police Chief Harold Medina said the shooting was one of three shootings by police that happened recently in about a month-long period. Police have shot at people four times this year. In 2022, the department was involved in a record 18 shootings.

"There are just peaks and valleys. We see incidents occur within a couple of weeks," Medina said. "There's peaks and there's valleys and right now, obviously, we’ve seen a few more officer-involved shootings."

Albuquerque police are working to complete a years-long Department of Justice reform effort after the DOJ announced in 2014 the department had a pattern and practice of excessive force, which included police shootings. The DOJ found that too often police used excessive force while encountering people with mental illnesses.