[NM] Ex -Officer Camacho acquitted of murder (Will he get his job back?)

A district court jury late Friday acquitted for Albuquerque police officer Orlando Camacho in the shooting death of the man he treated as his father...

Obituary
KIRK DEWAYNE CARROLL
Published On: Mon JULY 10, 2006
Kirk Dewayne Carroll was born in Albuquerque, NM on August 27, 1957 to Henry Carroll and Jessie Mae Nealy. He is survived by his son Orlando Camacho-Carroll of Albuquerque, New Mexico; his brother... his four sisters... seven nieces; four nephews; and a host of great-nieces, nephews, and cousins...

NOTES
- Orlando Camacho said that the gun went off while struggling with Kirk Carrol for the weapon. He was wearing a holster designed to prevent others from grabbing his gun and whether he pulled the weapon out was unknown.
- Camacho called his main girlfriend, telling her to come over, before he called for aid to Kirk Carroll.
- After the homicide police said the two men were fighting over "personal issues" and "life issues."
- Camacho went to Kirk Carroll's home in his police cruiser, dressed in uniform, carrying his Glock, badge and a taser though he was not scheduled to work at APD.
- Police found drug paraphernalia and containers with drug residue on them when they searched Camacho's home.
- The homicide was investigated as a non-officer-involved shooting, with lower priority.
- Camacho was fired in February of 2007 after Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz reviewed the results of the internal investigation - without saying why Camacho was fired. Details of the investigation were not released.
- Camacho was charged in September of 2007, 14 months after the shooting, with 2nd degree murder; intentional killing committed without sufficient provocation.
- The district attorney claimed the shooting was deliberate.
- One of Camacho's girlfriends testified that Camacho had physically assaulted her hours before the shooting of Kirk Carroll, that he had pulled out his taser and threatened her with it, and that Camacho had made a veiled terroristic threat towards her and her young son. "I was really scared for my life and my son's life."
- The allegedly assaulted girlfriend got a protection order against Camacho the day after the shooting but it was soon dismissed by District Court Judge Angela Jewell, who said that it "did not meet the burden of proof that Camacho committed an act of domestic violence."

EX-COP ACQUITTED IN FATHER'S DEATH
KRQE
Web Producer: Bill Diven
Friday, 13 Mar 2009
A district court jury late Friday acquitted for Albuquerque police officer Orlando Camacho in the shooting death of the man he treated as his father. Camacho had been charged with second-degree murder in the 2006 shooting of Kirk Carrol. Camacho had lived with Carrol and consider Carrol to be his father although the to were not related. Camacho's attorney argued the shooting resulted from an argument during which Carrol tried to take the officers service weapon. Camacho was in uniform and off duty at the time. The district attorney's office had claimed Camacho deliberately shot Carrol to free himself from years of physical and emotional abuse... [Full article here]

GIRLFRIEND CLAIMS THREATS HOURS BEFORE DEATH
Albuquerque Journal
By Olivier Uyttebrouck
Thursday, March 05, 2009
[Excerpts] Orlando Camacho manhandled his girlfriend and threatened her with a Taser stun gun in his police cruiser hours before he fatally shot the man he thought of as his father in 2006, the tearful woman testified Wednesday. [H.P.], who dated Camacho for more than two years, broke into tears as she described to jurors how Camacho, a former Albuquerque police officer, pinned her arm behind her back, slammed her against the steering wheel and threatened to harm her and her young son, now 8. "He told me he wondered if I could sleep at night worrying if my son was OK," [H.P.] told jurors in the second day of Camacho's second-degree murder trial. "I was really scared for my life and my son's life." The July 4, 2006, confrontation between Camacho and [H.P.] occurred in the parking lot of a fast-food restaurant less than three hours before Camacho shot Kirk D. Carroll, 48, in the doorway of a house the two men shared... "He told me that if I ever were to introduce myself to his dad, that he would hate me and break up with me," she said of Camacho, who had repeatedly denied her requests to meet Carroll, even after the couple began discussing marriage in June 2005...[H.P.] said she became aware in March 2006 that Camacho was dating another woman. The conflict reached a head on July 4, when [H.P.] and the other woman exchanged text messages and talked by phone... [H.P.]said she decided to break off her relationship with Camacho by meeting with Carroll... After her meeting with Carroll, [H.P.] spotted Camacho's police car outside a restaurant and pulled over to confront him, she said. [H.P.] said she found both Camacho and the other girlfriend sitting in the front seat.[H.P.] said that Camacho accused her of "ruining my life" by revealing their relationship to Carroll. An angry exchange then led to the incident in which Camacho threw [H.P.] against his steering wheel and threatened her with a Taser stun gun, she testified.

Excerpts from 2006, 2007, and 2008:

NIECE WAS SHOCKED BY ACCOUNTS OF DISPUTE
Albuquerque Journal
Maggie Shepard
07 July 2006: A1.
[Excerpts] Tasha Harper has no idea what police are talking about when they say her uncle and her cousin, an Albuquerque police officer, had long fought over "life issues" and were scuffling the night her uncle was fatally shot. Kirk D. Carroll, 48, was killed late Tuesday... "I have no clue what they mean. I have never known them to fight," said Harper, 38, an Albuquerque resident whose mother is Carroll's sister. Police haven't released exactly what they mean either... She also said Carroll planned to officially adopt Camacho so Camacho could receive Carroll's [veterans] benefits. "He encouraged him (Camacho) to be a police officer and wanted him to be a detective," she said. "He put him through school, loved him"... Carroll called Camacho "kiddo," Harper remembers from fishing trips Carroll would take her and Camacho on... "There is nothing anyone can say to make me believe my cousin maliciously killed him."

SEARCH WARRANT RAISES QUESTIONS ABOUT OFFICER-INVOLVED SHOOTING
KOB-TV, NM -
By: Reed Upton
07/13/2006 4:21:55 PM
[Excerpts] A search warrant served on the home where an off-duty Albuquerque police officer’s stepfather was shot and killed reveals that the officer may have called his girlfriend before he called for assistance... A search warrant says that Camacho’s girlfriend, [T.H], told police that Camacho called her and said “I just shot my dad. You need to get over here. We fought for my gun.” The warrant says that when police arrived [girlfriend T.H.] was already in the home. When asked if it is possible that Camacho delayed getting help for Carroll by calling his girlfriend, APD spokesman John Walsh said, “That is an unanswered question at this point”...

DRUG RESIDUE FOUND AT FATALITY SCENE
Albuquerque Tribune, NM - Jul 14, 2006
July 14, 2006
[Excerpts] Drug paraphernalia and containers with drug residue on them were found in an Albuquerque police officer's home when homicide detectives searched it following a homicide [of Kirk Carroll] there July 4, according to a District Court search warrant. Police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said she hasn't been told what kind of drugs the items were related to. Officer Orlando Camacho is on paid leave... The homicide is being investigated as a citizen homicide, not as an expedited, officer-involved shooting, Hoffman said, so it is placed in line behind the other pending homicide investigations.

DA WANTS ANSWERS IN OFFICER SHOOTING
KRQE News 13
Jul 14, 2006
[Excerpts] Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said there are lingering questions about the Fourth of July fatal shooting that involved an off-duty Albuquerque police officer. She told the Albuquerque Journal she questions the decision to let Officer Orlando Camacho be released from jail. She also wants to know why he was wearing his uniform... She'd also like some answers about the weapon, like whether Camacho drew his weapon from his holster. And there’s a the question of whether Camacho called his girlfriend before calling police after the shooting... Brandenburg said she hasn't decided yet if the case will go to a grand jury...

DA'S QUESTIONS LINGER IN DEATH OF OFFICER'S DAD
Albuquerque Journal
By T.J. Wilham
14 July 2006
[Excerpts] ...APD officer Orlando Camacho was held for several hours after the fatal shooting. He was questioned and then released at the direction of the DA's office... [District Attorney Kari] Brandenburg said that releasing Camacho at the time was the right thing to do but that, after learning more from the investigation, she questions the decision... Why was Camacho wearing his uniform ... Did Camacho, 25, call his girlfriend before calling police, after Carroll, 48, was shot... Did Camacho draw his weapon from his holster? "We are getting more information right now that is causing more concern and causing more questions than we have answers right now," Brandenburg said... Camacho was wearing a holster designed to prevent others from grabbing his gun... APD officials have refused to release a department photo of the three-year officer... The off-duty officer used his APD radio to call police to the home... He asked for an ambulance, a rescue truck and a supervisor. According to dispatch tapes, Camacho didn't say why he needed assistance... Albuquerque Police spokeswoman Trish Hoffman said investigators don't know why Camacho was wearing his uniform or whom he called first...

SUIT SAYS OFFICER, DAD FOUGHT OFTEN
Albuquerque Journal
By T.J. Wilham
11 October 2006
[Excerpts] An Albuquerque police officer under investigation in the death of his stepfather had been fighting with him for several years, according to a lawsuit. Officer Orlando Camacho was frequently followed by his stepfather, Kirk Carroll, while he was working, and on one occasion Camacho left his post to argue with his stepfather... Police officials have finished their investigation and have submitted it to the District Attorney's Office for review... Police Chief Ray Schultz said investigators are also checking into claims made by Camacho's ex-girlfriend that he threatened her with a Taser. The woman filed a protective order against Camacho in state District Court a day after Carroll's death... The protective order was later dismissed by a judge. Details of Camacho's relationship with Carroll surfaced in a civil lawsuit filed by attorneys representing Justin Rodriguez. The lawsuit filed last year claims that Camacho beat, kicked and used pepper spray on Rodriguez outside a northeast Albuquerque bar in 2004. At the time, Camacho was working security. The suit alleges Camacho never arrested Rodriguez and didn't seek medical attention for him. The case is scheduled to go to trial in December... [Rodriguez's attorney Shannon] Oliver claims in the motion that there was an "abusive relationship" between Camacho and Carroll. At one point, Camacho received a written reprimand after he left his post to argue with Carroll, the motion states. After that incident in 2004, a supervisor told Camacho he "needed counseling for his domestic issues." Oliver said information in the motion was compiled from APD files, interviews and depositions. On the day of the shooting, Carroll and Camacho had been arguing about whom the officer was dating... Although Camacho wasn't scheduled to work, he was wearing his uniform and had been driving his squad car. On the day Carroll was killed, Camacho told his step-father he was working overtime so that, according to the motion, he could "sneak out and be with his girlfriend." Camacho's "other" girlfriend had called Carroll and told him that he wasn't working but on a date with another woman, the motion states. Carroll then called Camacho on his cell phone and told him to come home... After the shooting, Camacho told investigators "he had been and was a victim of domestic violence"...

OFFICER FIRED AFTER FATAL SHOOTING - Camacho fought with stepfather; case still pending
Albuquerque Tribune
Saturday, February 17, 2007
[Excerpts] An Albuquerque police officer who was involved in a fatal struggle with his stepfather has been fired from the force. Officer Orlando Camacho was terminated as of Thursday as the result of an internal investigation... [Albuquerque Police Department spokesman John] Walsh said a criminal case has been forwarded to the Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office. However, District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said Friday she is still deciding how to proceed with the case. Brandenburg had said previously that she would request a preliminary hearing... "Things are up in the air; it's a very complex case," she said... Police have said the two men had argued before the fatal incident about "life issues"...

OFFICER FIRED AFTER SUSPENSION; Preliminary Hearing Likely in Fatal Shooting
Albuquerque Journal
By T.J. Wilham
17 Feb 2007
[Excerpts] An Albuquerque police officer who was involved in a struggle that left his stepfather dead has been fired, police officials said Friday... Camacho has told police his gun went off while his stepfather reached for it. The two had a history of getting into fights... Police officials will not say why he was fired... District Attorney Kari Brandenburg said Friday that prosecutors still have some unanswered questions and are waiting for more information from the police department...

FORMER ALBUQUERQUE POLICE OFFICER CHARGED WITH MURDER
Albuquerque Tribune, NM
By Maggie Shepard
Thursday, September 27, 2007
[Excerpts] A former Albuquerque police officer who claimed self-defense in the shooting death of his father figure has been indicted on a charge of second-degree murder. A grand jury on Wednesday evening found enough evidence to move forward with a case against Orlando Camacho... Camacho told detectives the two argued, Carroll kicked him in the groin and punched him in the face, and the two then struggled over Camacho's department-issued gun, which went off. All police have said about the topic of the argument is it involved long-running "personal issues." Carroll was shot in the chest from short range, and the bullet entered his body at little or no angle. Camacho called his girlfriend, who later told detectives that Camacho told her, "I just shot my dad. You need to get over here. We fought for my gun." Camacho then used his police radio to call for emergency medical and police help. Carroll was dead when help arrived. Relatives of Carroll have said he met Camacho when Camacho was a 10-year-old recent arrival in Albuquerque who had moved from Mexico with his family. Carroll eventually took Camacho under his wing and raised him as his own son, they said... Camacho was fired from the Albuquerque Police Department in February after Albuquerque Police Chief Ray Schultz reviewed the results of the internal investigation. Details of that investigation were not made public... Camacho's cousin, [T.H.] told The Tribune shortly after the homicide that she has no idea what police mean when they say the men were arguing over "life issues." [Cousin T.H.] remembers her uncle [Carroll]'s love for music and how it led him to become a disc jockey for a local radio station in the late 1970s playing jazz, soul and R&B. He was in the middle of plans to start playing recorded music at parties and maybe even a few clubs around town, she said. Carroll also loved fishing, playing cards, gardening and animals, Harper said. "They (Carroll and Camacho) had turtles, dogs, doves and even tarantulas," she said. But of all of Carroll's loves, Harper said Camacho was at the top. "There is nothing anyone can say to make me believe my cousin maliciously killed him," Harper said...

EX-OFFICER, APD SUED
Albuquerque Journal
24 Aug 2008
[Excerpts] A civil lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department and a former officer [Orlando Camacho] alleges that the officer shot and killed his stepfather, and that the department was negligent in training and disciplining... The lawsuit, filed last month on behalf of Carroll's estate, alleges a pattern of violence and misbehavior by Camacho and that it was ignored by the department. A similar lawsuit was brought by Justin Rodriguez in 2006, who alleged Camacho beat, kicked and used pepper spray on him outside a northeast Albuquerque bar in 2004. It also alleges Camacho never arrested Rodriguez or sought medical attention for him. The latest lawsuit lists the Rodriguez incident, as well as a domestic violence allegation by a past girlfriend, as evidence of a pattern of violence by Camacho.
[police officer involved domestic violence oidv intimate partner violence ipv abuse law enforcement public safety lethal fatality fatalities murder repeat hx teflon new mexico state politics]