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A former police officer has been found guilty of voluntary manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a Black man at a New Mexico gas station.
On Wednesday (February 12), a jury convicted Las Cruces police officer Brad Lunsford of voluntary manslaughter in the 2022 shooting death of Presley Eze, per the Associated Press.
The deadly shooting unfolded after a gas station attendant called 911 to report that Eze stole a beer. After police responded to the scene, Eze allegedly put his hand on an officer's stun gun before Lunsford shot him at point-blank range.
Attorney General Raúl Torrez said Lunsford's deadly use of force was excessive, citing that the officer immediately drew his weapon and shot Eze in the back of the head.
“Today’s verdict reaffirms a fundamental principle: no one is above the law — not even those sworn to uphold it. Officer Lunsford’s actions were not just a tragic lapse in judgment; they were an egregious abuse of power that cost Presley Eze his life,” Torrez said in a statement following the jury's verdict.
Lunsford pleaded not guilty to the charge of voluntary manslaughter with a firearms enhancement. He faces up to nine years in prison.
While pursuing criminal charges against the officer, Torrez said Eze's killing was “yet another example of poor police tactics resulting in an unjustifiable use of force to subdue an individual resisting arrest for the commission of a minor crime.”
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