Albuquerque, NM: Police: Suspect attacked car, then attacked officer

Posted at: 08/18/2010 7:18 AM
Updated at: 08/18/2010 8:16 PM
By: Eyewitness News 4


Albuquerque police are investigating an officer-involved shooting that happened Tuesday evening at the Montgomery Boulevard entrance to Del Norte High School.

Around 6 p.m., police responded to a domestic dispute call where 38-year-old Enrique Carrasco and his fiancée were arguing in the parking lot of the Ross clothing store near San Mateo and Montgomery in Northeast Albuquerque. Carrasco’s 7-year-old daughter was also present and in his fiancées car.

Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White says witnesses reported Carrasco had slashed a pickup's tires with a knife but quickly left the scene when police arrived.

Another officer on patrol in the area located the suspect across the street near Del Norte High School.

According to police, Carrasco then attacked the responding officer’s unit by jumping on top of the car and stabbing the windshield with a knife. Carrasco then broke the driver’s side window and began attacking the officer in a brief tug-of-war over the car door.

Officer Josh Brown then shot Carrasco, killing him. Police say he died with a knife in his hand. Several witnesses who live in the area reported hearing five to six gunshots.

Carrasco worked as a maintenance man for the city’s Senior Affairs Department. He was also a convicted felon who bit and broke a deputy’s finger 10 years ago.

Since then he had been jailed for other crimes, including for domestic violence.

Because of his criminal background, Eyewitness News 4 asked the city if he should have been hired in the first place. Public Safety Chief Darren White said no, he shouldn’t have, and it appeared Carrasco never underwent a background check when being hired in 2006.

Meanwhile, Albuquerque Police Officer Josh Brown is on standard paid administrative leave pending the investigation.

Enrique Carrasco was the seventh person killed by Albuquerque police in 10 police-involved shootings this year.

> Raw video: Chief of Public Safety Darren White explains Tuesday's shooting at a press conference held at APD Headquarters on 8/18/10. (16 minutes)