Police killings of Autistics in Albuquerque and Fresno

Post Reply New Topic

There are a lot of similarities between two deadly shootings by Albuquerque police that occurred within about two weeks of one another in November.

Both men were holding sharp objects: one clutching nail clippers with the file extended, the other waving two chef’s knives above his head. In each instance, officers also used less-lethal weapons — a Taser and rubber bullets, respectively.

Both men were experiencing a mental health crisis. Officials say 41-year-old Jesus Crosby was diagnosed with schizophrenia and had several prior interactions with officers near the Downtown police headquarters parking lot where he was killed. Blaine Denetdele’s parents told the Journal he had Asperger’s syndrome — a form of autism spectrum disorder — and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and they had called 911 so officers could help calm down the 30-year-old during a family fight.

For one thing, in the first case — involving Crosby on Nov. 10 — he said officers were on scene negotiating with him for several minutes, while in the second — involving Denetdele on Nov. 25 — the events unfolded very quickly, not allowing officers much time to react.

Albuquerque police held a briefing Friday morning where they released lapel camera videos and photos from the shootings. Investigations by the Internal Affairs division and the Multi-Agency Task Force are ongoing for each incident.

When asked about whether officers should have just used the less-lethal option of a Taser rather than deadly force, Medina referenced an announcement he had made on Thursday about having his executive staff and city attorneys look for trends in this year’s shootings. That review is expected in mid-January.

Nov. 25, Joseph Perry called 911 to say his stepson Denetdele was out of control and had been drinking alcohol. It was the day after Thanksgiving.

Perry and Denetdele’s mother, Mavis Denetdele-Perry, had previously told the Journal that they had called police because in the past when their son was upset officers were able to calm him down. They were devastated by the outcome of the call.

On the audio recording of the call, Perry said Denetdele was out of control and he had not hit anybody but he had “got pretty close.”

Hartsock said Denetdele-Perry spent 20 minutes on the phone with the dispatcher and he played clips in which Denetdele and Perry could be heard in the background.

Officers Arniel Sampang, Christopher Taddoni and Jacob Muñoz arrived at the house in the 2200 block of Odessa SW, near Gibson and Messina, and Perry came outside to talk to them.

Video shows that as the officers were talking to Perry, Denetdele came out of the house, holding two knives. The officers ordered him to drop the knives but he did not and instead jogged toward them.

“Officer Sampang fired a 40mm sponge less-than-lethal round from an approximate distance of 21 feet — which did hit him but didn’t cause Blaine to surrender,” Hartsock said. “The officers continued their commands and began to retreat into the street. When Blaine was approximately 13 feet away from them and still moving towards them armed with knives an officer-involved shooting occurred.”

The whole encounter lasted less than a minute. Denetdele died at the scene.

Sampang has been with APD since 2015, Taddoni since 2021 and Muñoz since 2020. None had been involved in any other shootings

Photos from inside the home show damage from a knife to doors and the TV.

Medina said it would not have been an appropriate for the Albuquerque Community Safety department to respond to the call since Denetdele was armed with a knife. He said a mobile crisis team — comprised of an officer and a clinician — was requested but none was available.

When Denetdele’s parents spoke with the Journal a couple of weeks ago they were upset that the officers had not gone into the house to speak with their son.

In response to questions about their concerns, Medina said the officers were in the process of communicating with the family when everything unfolded.

“At no point in time would I want officers immediately to charge into a house because, had our officers charged into the house immediately and ended up shooting individuals, the question that would be presented to me right now is ‘why didn’t the officers slow things down?'” Medina said.

The Fresno County Sheriff’s Office says two separate investigations have since overlapped into one larger case.

Sheriff-elect John Zanoni says 9 mm rounds collected at a deputy-involved shooting on Tuesday, Dec. 6th are connected to a homicide last month.

Sheriff-elect John Zanoni held a news conference on Thursday, Dec. 22 to announce the findings that Dennis Happawana, who was killed by deputies on Dec. 6th, was responsible for the shooting death of a woman in Fresno on Nov. 17th.

Zanoni says 32-year-old Dennis Happawana was shot and killed by deputies near Belmont and DeWolf Avenues.

Happawana fired shots at deputies and tried using a grinder on a 500-gallon propane tank, presumably to make it explode.

He also had a high-powered assault-style rifle and ammunition with him at the time.

During the investigation, detectives collected 9 mm rounds that were later connected to a deadly shooting on Thursday, Nov. 17th.

Detectives believe Happawana was using the same cordless grinder to try to damage a cellphone tower when 44-year-old Amanda Berry came outside to investigate.

They believe he shot and killed Berry when she confronted him. Dispatchers had received a call of an unconscious woman on a piece of property located near the southeast corner of McKinley and Temperance Avenues in Fresno. Deputies arrived and attempted CPR, but she would later be declared deceased.

Zanoni says Happawana suffered from mental health issues and made comments to his mother about concerns of the 5G towers and about aliens trying to get inside his body.

He said the 9 mm handgun Happawana was using is an unregistered “ghost gun.”

Records show Happawana had Asperger’s Syndrome and a history of mental health issues.