LAS CRUCES, NM - Law Enforcement Today recently reported on the case of a Las Cruces, New Mexico police officer, Brad Lunsford, who was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter when he shot and killed a suspect, Presley Eze, who gained control of his partner’s taser. It took a jury only hours to “deliberate” and find Lunsford guilty.
After we published our story, we had the chance to speak to Lunsford’s wife, Lacy.
The most surprising thing we learned from Lacy, aside from her husband being convicted, is that he is being held without bond pending his sentencing on April 4. Lunsford is an 11-year veteran of the department, an Army veteran who was twice deployed and is married with two children. If anyone didn’t meet the criteria for being a flight risk, it’s Officer Brad Lunsford.
“He’s also a US Calvary scout, an army veteran, you know, he went through two deployments and then he decided to serve his community as well [as a police officer],” Lacy told us.
We asked Lacy if she was familiar with the case in Atlanta, where two city police officers were arrested under very similar circumstances [for the shooting of Rayshard Brooks] in 2020.
“Yep, I remember that,” Lacy said, and we reminded her that in that case, both officers had their charges dropped by the district attorney in Georgia, who said they had followed their training and state law.
We asked Lacy if there were any gaps in our reporting or if there was additional information.
“So he [Off Lunsford] went to, he got called to a shoplifting. He ran the guy twice, the bad guy because he kept providing false information so that right there is a crime in New Mexico. It’s concealing identity, and it’s a crime, so he had the shoplifting and the concealing identity,” Lacy said.
“His partner got to the gas station, and they decided to pull him out of his car and then go inside to check the cameras to confirm the shoplifting. So they go to pull him out, and you know, ‘bro, like please step out,’ and he’s resistant, so he put those hands on, you know, he grabbed his wrist, and that’s when Aborgast [the backup officer] noticed there’s a knife that was not there before on his lap,” Lacy continued. “He was concealing it under this big old water bottle, so he grabs his knife and puts it in his pocket, and then they tried to pull him out.
“He tries like bolting, so Aborgast stops him at the end of the SUV, and he tries to take them down. But this guy [the suspect] was like high on drugs, strong, so he ends up taking him [Aborgast] back, and he hits his head really hard. You know, he [Aborgast] was totally out of it. The bad guy flipped out and pounced on him,” Lacy said. “He tries getting his gun first, and then after that after you know, he figured he wasn’t gonna get it, he went after his taser.”
She said after one unsuccessful attempt, he went back and was able to remove the Taser from Aborgast’s holster. Lacy said after Eze got the taser, her husband, fearing that he would be incapacitated, had to make an immediate decision.
“...there was like two seconds from when he [Eze] got the taser to when Brag shot as soon as he got the taser. Brad had to eliminate the threat, which is in line with [department] policy and the law,” she said.
She said that as a result of hitting his head, Officer Aborgast suffered a concussion.
Lacy said after her husband got administrative time off for the department to conduct an internal interview, he was cleared to go back to work. It wasn’t until a year later that he was charged by New Mexico Attorney General Raul Torrez, which she said was politically motivated. Lacy told us that Torrez is a George Soros-funded zealot who was elected due to his deep pockets. Law Enforcement Today discovered that Torrez was the beneficiary of a Soros-funded super PAC to the tune of a $107,000 contribution when he was elected in 2016.
She also said that Torrez was “run out of” Albuquerque when he was the district attorney there. She also noted that there were a number of questionable shootings when he worked there (Torrez is a former Albuquerque police officer) where he didn’t charge anybody.
Lacy told us it came out that Eze was high on methamphetamines and amphetamines, however, the judge would not allow that into evidence. Lacy said Eze was portrayed as a “wonderful person,” but he had a lengthy arrest record and was fired from his job as a nurse in Connecticut for stealing medicine.
In reviewing the Las Cruces Police Department use of force policy, it cites Graham v. Connor, 490 U.S. 386 (1989). That Supreme Court decision established the “objective reasonableness” standard in evaluating police use of force. The unanimous court held that “an excessive force claim should consider whether the search and seizure was objectively reasonable, based on how a reasonable police officer would have handled the same decision.”
“While improper intentions do not make a reasonable use of force unconstitutional, good inventions do not shield an officer from liability if their use of force was objectively unreasonable.”
“In deciding whether an officer used excessive force in a certain situation, a court should consider similar factors to those described in the earlier decision of Tennessee v. Garner, 471 U.S. 1 (1985). These include the severity of the crime, any threat posed by the individual to the safety of officers or other people, and whether the individual is trying to flee or resist arrest.”
The Las Cruces policy mirrors the Supreme Court case, using the same criteria of the “objectively reasonable” standard. Officer Lunsford followed department policy and the use-of-force standard of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety. Moreover, the Graham v. Connor standard is taught at the New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy.
The question is, if Officer Lunsford was following department policy, New Mexico Department of Public Safety policy, and New Mexico Law Enforcement Academy standards, why was he convicted? Because Judge James Foy, initially appointed to the bench by New Mexico’s left-wing governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, refused to allow Lunsford’s training, Las Cruces department policy, or New Mexico use of force standards into the record.
The fact that Foy put a respected police officer and military veteran who was no threat to flee in jail without bond is a travesty. In 2016, New Mexico voters approved a constitutional amendment that reformed the state’s bail system, where judges were given the power to decide whether a defendant should stay in jail while they await trial.
Officer Brad Lunsford shouldn’t have spent a minute in jail, let alone being held without bail. Judge James Foy is an embarrassment to the legal profession and doesn’t belong anywhere near a courtroom.
Law Enforcement Today will follow up on this case as more information becomes available. The Las Cruces Police Officers Association has set up a GoFundMe to benefit Brad, Lacy, and their two young sons. Brad is the sole financial supporter for the family. Hopefully, our law enforcement family can help this family while they fight this ridiculous charge.
Comments
33 days ago | Comment by: Bruce
Sounds like a good shooting to me!
32 days ago | Comment by: Rick
Sounds completely justified to me as well. There should be tremendous public outcry and pressure over this B.S. pretend-a-trial.
32 days ago | Comment by: Michelle
Under those circumstances any cop would’ve shot the suspect because their partner was incapacitated and the suspect had acquired a weapon that would’ve also incapacitated the officer if he hadn’t shot. This is ridiculous and needs to be overturned immediately.
32 days ago | Comment by: James
This was a completely justified shooting. The court system in New Mexico is run by thugs and criminals. This should be appealed all the way to Supreme Court. Quicker would be a Trump pardon.
31 days ago | Comment by: James
THIS is why the pig is going to jail ( https://old.bitchute.com/video/NJxcU99sMdTn/ ) He and his pig pal should be going to the gallows ..... SO pigs .... GET IT or get DEAD ..... FROM NOW ON, Bare minimum you're going to jail ....
31 days ago | Comment by: James
WE DON'T even need a passport, chumps ............
31 days ago | Comment by: James
HERE michelle, THIS is WHY I DESPISE worthless pigs and attorney's ( https://old.bitchute.com/video/3LGs-osy6Sw/ ) The FILTH have EARNED the hate, STUPID ..... Mr. Campbell should put a BULLET in every one of them ...... I WOULD ....
30 days ago | Comment by: Dawn
These communities are going to find themselves wondering why police are no longer protecting them from scumbag criminals. THIS is why. These activists who persecute cops and protect criminals. I hope and pray this case gets thrown out on appeal.
29 days ago | Comment by: Evan
Same here in the panhandle of Floridas 1st district https://youtu.be/_vkRR16lGX4?si=ic6j2A7Zuplid48a
29 days ago | Comment by: Cathleen
This was a JUSTIFIED shoot!!!!! The first Grand Jury didn't indict. This is wrong and we all need to support Brad and his family. This criminal is responsible for the outcome, not Brad. Brad proudly served his country then his community, flawlessly. Stand with Brad!!!!! We must protect our heroes, if not us then who? Soon who will want to step up to serve and protect????