2009 police shooting takes new turn

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - An Albuquerque Police Department officer involved in an on-duty shooting nearly a year ago is back on administrative leave.

Investigators want to know if the shooting was justified.

On Nov. 6 police got the call that a burglar was prowling around inside a house on Sandy Spring Avenue on Albuquerque's southwest mesa.

When officers showed up they found a door open and Roderick Jones, 42, inside.

APD Officer Brandon Carr confronted Jones and later reported Jones didn't respond to commands to surrender. When Jones reached for something in his pocket, Carr shot him, police said at the time.

One of the shots may have been in the back, however, and that is what investigators are looking into.

After the shooting, the officer took a few days off, standard procedure during investigations of officer-involved shootings.

Now News 13 has learned that a few weeks ago Albuquerque police placed Carr back on paid leave while the nearly year-old investigation continues.

The Bernalillo County District Attorney's Office is waiting for additional evidence from investigators, and then will take the case to a grand jury. The grand jury will determine if the shooting was justified, undetermined or whether it should be presented to another grand jury for criminal charges.

The grand jury is expected to get the case in the next few months.

It's not uncommon for a police-involved shooting to take a year and a half or more until it's heard in front of a grand jury.

APD Chief Ray Schultz would not comment on the case when asked about it by News 13.