| 1 | In a Monday, Aug. 3, 2015 file photo, Albuquerque officer Dominique Perez, left, and former Albuquerque Detective Keith Sandy, right, stand up in court at a preliminary hearing. |
| 2 | A former and a current New Mexico police officer charged with murder sat motionless after a judge announced they would have to face a jury trial for the on-duty shooting of a homeless man. |
| 3 | Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy were ordered Tuesday to stand trial for the 2014 killing of 38-year-old James Boyd, whose shooting in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains was caught on video and sparked national outrage. |
| 4 | It's unusual for a judge to order police officers to stand trial for murder - even as the country debates use of force by police and sees protests in far-flung places over shootings by officers. |
| 5 | Only seven police officers around the country have faced murder charges for on-duty incidents since 2010. |
| 6 | One was convicted of manslaughter and assault after a second-degree murder count was dropped. |
| 7 | The rest are still in court proceedings. |
| 8 | In New Mexico, Pro Tem Judge Neil Candelaria ruled after a nearly two-week preliminary hearing that there was probable cause for Perez and Sandy to face trial. |
| 9 | Unlike secret grand jury proceedings after police shootings in New York and Ferguson, Missouri, the hearing in Albuquerque was open to the public and streamed online by television media outlets. |
| 10 | Candelaria's decision was met with silence in his packed courtroom. |
| 11 | Some supporters of Perez and Sandy held their hands over their mouths in disbelief. |
| 12 | There have been more than 40 shootings by Albuquerque police since 2010 and only Perez and Sandy have been ordered to stand trial. |
| 13 | After the ruling, defense lawyer Sam Bregman asked Candelaria what standard he used to justify probable cause. |
| 14 | Candelaria replied, "What a reasonable police officer in that situation would do." |
| 15 | Defense lawyers did not immediately comment after the ruling. |
| 16 | But in a radio interview, Bregman said the decision meant Albuquerque police have the toughest job in the country. |
| 17 | Special Prosecutor Randi McGinn said during the hearing that Perez and Sandy came to the scene with the intent of attacking Boyd during a "paramilitary response" and created the danger. |
| 18 | "He was shot in the back and in the side," McGinn said during her closing argument. |
| 19 | "That shows that he was not a threat when they shot him." |
| 20 | McGinn pointed out that Sandy in a recording vowed that he was going shoot the "lunatic" before going into the foothills. |
| 21 | Other officers testified that police at the scene knew Boyd was mentally ill, but it was unclear if Sandy and Perez knew he was schizophrenic. |
| 22 | Video of the 2014 shooting taken with an officer's helmet camera showed Boyd gathering his belongs and appearing to surrender after an hours-long standoff. |
| 23 | Police then detonated a flash bomb near Boyd, who dropped his bag and pulled two knives before Perez and Sandy shot him as he fell to the ground. |
| 24 | Authorities had been called to the scene over a report of an illegal camper. |
| 25 | Boyd died at a hospital after his arm was amputated. |
| 26 | Defense lawyers said Boyd had threatened officers with two knives and Perez and Sandy had no choice about opening fire. |
| 27 | The lawyers said the officers were following their training and protecting their colleagues. |
| 28 | The killing of Boyd generated angry protests in Albuquerque before the nation watched similar scenes unfold in Ferguson after a white police officer killed an unarmed 18-year-old black man. |
| 29 | Shortly after the killing of Boyd, Justice Department officials released a harsh report faulting Albuquerque police for excessive force, especially against suspects suffering for mental illness. |
| 30 | The city and the Justice Department later reached an agreement to overhaul policies involving use of force and to appoint a federal monitor to oversee reforms. |
| 31 | In a statement, Albuquerque Police Chief Gorden Eden said he couldn't comment on the judge's decision since he expected to be a witness at the trial. |
| 32 | "As this case is moving though our judicial system, my focus is on continually moving the Albuquerque Police Department forward," Eden said. |