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Derek Pickett

Age : 44

Gender : Male

Race : Black

Date : 08/17/2024

Location : 400 block of Arno Street SE

City : Albuquerque

County : Bernalillo

State : New Mexico

Agency : Albuquerque Police Department, SWAT

Officer(s) :Truitt Bushnell; Robert Sanchez

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by SWAT after shoplifting accusation at Family Dollar

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 08/17/2024, Derek Pickett, 44, was shot and killed by Albuquerque Police Department SWAT Officer Robert Sanchez following a police foot chase and several-hour barricade in a backyard shed in the 400 block of Arno Street SE. The encounter began at approximately 2:20 p.m. at the Family Dollar at 613 Broadway Boulevard SE. An officer was already at the store on an unrelated call when employees ran after Pickett and told the officer that he had stolen merchandise. Later police reporting valued the merchandise at approximately $47.
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The officer pursued Pickett on foot over the shoplifting accusation. During the chase, Pickett dropped the merchandise. Police alleged that Pickett displayed a handgun from his waistband and said that he could not go back to jail before continuing away from the officer. A landscaper subsequently told police that Pickett had entered a backyard shed on Arno Street.
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Albuquerque officers surrounded the shed and attempted to persuade Pickett to surrender. Officer Truitt Bushnell communicated with Pickett from outside. Police alleged that Pickett fired a shot from inside the shed approximately 16 minutes into the encounter. Bushnell fired back. Neither Pickett nor Bushnell was struck during that exchange.
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APD SWAT took control of the scene at approximately 4:16 p.m. Police attempted dozens of times over approximately two hours to establish communication with Pickett and placed a telephone near the shed for him to use.
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At approximately 6:25 p.m., Pickett opened the shed door and reached for the police telephone while holding a handgun in his other hand. Video released by APD showed Pickett bringing the handgun to his own head. At approximately the same time, SWAT Officer Robert Sanchez fired one rifle round, striking Pickett in the chest, while other officers deployed a less-lethal projectile and a flashbang.
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Sanchez later told investigators that he believed Pickett was beginning to raise the firearm toward SWAT personnel. Police subsequently reported that the handgun recovered after the shooting had no magazine inserted and no cartridge in the chamber. APD said the gun had been fired earlier during the standoff.
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Pickett died at the scene. APD's Multi-Agency Task Force investigated the shooting, with additional administrative review by Internal Affairs and the Force Review Board.
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OFFICER BACKGROUND
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Robert Sanchez fired the fatal shot that killed Pickett. Sanchez had previously been involved in two Albuquerque police shootings before killing Pickett.
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In 2022, Sanchez shot and killed 43-year-old Wendel Bryan Tagle during an encounter at an Albuquerque apartment complex. Police alleged that Tagle had a firearm and pointed it toward Sanchez. APD's own account of that shooting identified Sanchez and noted that he had already been involved in another police shooting in 2018.
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Truitt Bushnell exchanged gunfire with Pickett earlier in the barricade but did not fire the fatal shot. Bushnell had no previously reported police shootings when APD released its account of Pickett's killing.
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SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fvkgYYc-54g
https://www.abqjournal.com/news/albuquerque-police-detail-fatal-shooting-of-man-holed-up-in-shed/681667
https://abqraw.com/post/apd-provides-details-on-officer-involved-shooting/
https://www.koat.com/article/apd-breaks-down-ois-of-man-who-stole-from-family-dollar-koat-shooting-police/62195144
https://www.cabq.gov/police/news/apd-releases-details-of-recent-officer-involved-shooting-6
https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/apd-ois-list-for-web-site-as-of-31dec2024.pdf