EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A man was arrested after an officer-involved shooting this past weekend after he called dispatch and threatened to shoot his mother, Las Cruces Police Chief Jeremy Stormy said during a press conference on Thursday, July 31.
Dominic Martinez was charged with aggravated assault upon a peace officer, assault against a household member, and resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer after pointing a gun at an officer this past Sunday, July 27, which resulted in an officer-involved shooting at the 1900 block of Embassy Drive.
Stormy said just before 4 p.m. this past Sunday, Martinez called 911 and stated that he had gotten into an argument with his mother and told dispatch that if police didn’t show up, he was going to shoot her.
Martinez also told dispatch that he had a gun and that the argument with his mother was likely going to escalate into a physical altercation. He refused to answer any further questions and ended the call.
Police then responded to the 1900 block of Embassy Drive and arrived at an apartment complex and saw a man and Martinez’s mother inside one of the apartments.
Body-worn camera footage showed an officer asking the man where Martinez was, to which the man said that Martinez was in his room. The man then asked Martinez to come out, and the officer took cover behind an SUV located right in front of the apartment.
Martinez then exited the apartment with a gun in his hand and pointed the gun at the officer.
Martinez then moved towards the officer, and the officer discharged his service weapon four times.
Martinez then leaned against a white car that was also located in front of the apartment, and the officer ordered Martinez to drop the gun.
Martinez then dropped the gun and lied on his side with the gun near his feet.
Story said that the gun Martinez had was later confirmed to be a BB gun.
Martinez was taken into custody, and officers discovered that he was not struck by gunfire.
As officers were confirming that Martinez was not hurt, he then began thrashing and pulling away and told officers that he wanted them to kill him, Story said.
Later on, Martinez admitted to coming out of the apartment with the gun because he wanted the officer to kill him, Story said.
Martinez also said that once he was in custody, he began to resist officers to try to escalate the situation so that officers would hurt him, Story said.
Martinez has had a history of six suicide attempts and ten Class III Referrals as a juvenile, which mostly consisted of battery or assault charges.
Story said Martinez was also a suspect in an aggravated assault with a knife this month. However, the victim refused to pursue charges.
In June, Martinez’ mother called for a welfare check because Martinez was locked in his bedroom with a knife and was threatening self-harm. He refused to cooperate with officers.
“This case really highlights some of the holes or gaps in our system, especially when it comes to mental health,” Story said.
If you are having thoughts of suicide, you can call the national suicide prevention hotline at 988.
In the Borderland, anyone can access the Emergence Health Network Crisis Hotline any time of the day or night. The hotline is manned by qualified mental health professionals at EHN available to the public 24/7/365 who are trained to assist in verbal de-escalation and link individuals who need help to local mental health resources in the community.
The EHN Crisis Hotline: (915) 779-1800.
Read: Read More