During an Albuquerque City Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 2, the family of Matthew “Solo” Garcia was joined by community members and activists to request accountability from the Albuquerque Police Department after officers fatally shot Garcia while he was handcuffed in the back of a police car during a code enforcement on Oct. 18.
About two weeks before the meeting, Albuquerque Police Department Commander Kyle Hartsock revealed in a public briefing the names of the two officers who shot Matthew Garcia: Precious Cadena and Zachary Earles. A total of 11 shots were fired, 10 of which struck Garcia, Hartsock said during the briefing.
Matthew Garcia’s parents, Fred and Bernadette Garcia, asked the Council for answers and accountability for their son.
“Solo wasn’t perfect, but he was human,” Fred Garcia said.
Matthew Garcia’s 9-year-old daughter, Azul Diamond Garcia, stood with her grandparents during the meeting.
“This is taking a toll on the whole family,” Bernadette Garcia said. "We get no answers.”
Public commenter and activist Anami Dass said that the officers who were at the scene need more time to “cool off” since the incident.
“It’s incredibly traumatic to hurt another person, even if you’re a cop,” she said. “They need time away from the field, and the field needs time with them away.”
Both Cadena and Earles were hired in 2021 and have not returned to full duty since the incident, Hartsock said in the briefing.
In November 2023, Earles shot an armed suspect in Albuquerque.
In the lapel footage played during the briefing, Matthew Garcia had been concealing his identity shortly before being handcuffed and placed in the police car, where he then sat for 45 minutes as police tried to determine his identity.
Matthew Garcia had not been searched prior to being placed in the police car, Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina said during the briefing.
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“(Cadena) knew they still needed to search the individual, because it seems to have gotten lost during the transition when they were trying to deescalate the situation,” Medina said.
Taylor Smith, an attorney who was retained by Garcia’s family, told the Daily Lobo he is investigating what led up to Garcia’s death, as well as any potential claims for constitutional violations.
“Our clients are completely devastated by the loss of their son,” Smith said. “We do not believe that Mr. Garcia should have died based on this interaction.”
Based on the lapel footage, Smith said he saw a failure on the officers’ end to deal with people in mental distress in an appropriate manner, and a failure in standard police practices to protect officer safety and the safety of people like Matthew Garcia.
The footage shows that after about a minute and a half in the back of the police car, Matthew Garcia told a police officer, “I’m going to kill myself here.”
An officer told Matthew Garcia that officers would not let that happen.
Two hours after the shooting, APD officers spoke to his wife, Bianca Garcia, who said that Matthew Garcia used to tell her he would “go by suicide by cop.”
The footage shows that Matthew Garcia was holding a handgun while he was handcuffed in the back of the car, which an APD officer was able to remove during a scramble.
“You’re going to fucking die,” Matthew Garcia said during the scramble.
At the time of the shooting, Matthew Garcia was prohibited from possessing a firearm due to convictions of armed robbery, auto theft, aggravated assault and concealing identity, according to Medina.
Medina said during the briefing that he briefly met Matthew Garcia’s family at a City Council meeting.
“I feel bad that this happened to their son, but at the same time, I am grateful that I have three officers that went home that night,” Medina said.
Smith said that based on the footage, it looks like Cadena and Earles fired shots at Matthew Garcia after he was disarmed.
“As (Cadena and Earles) approach the vehicle after having discharged their firearms, the APD officer already has (Garcia’s) gun in hand,” Smith said.
Emery Schmidt, a speaker at public comment, asked the Council members for transparency regarding the incident and requested that APD be kept accountable.
“The demand of the public is transparency,” Schmidt said. “I would also like to remind the Council that due to the results of the local election, you all have the power to remove sheriffs.”
Leila Chapa is the social media editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at socialmedia@dailylobo.com or on X @lchapa06
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on X @paloma_chapa88
Paloma Chapa is the multimedia editor for the Daily Lobo. She can be reached at multimedia@dailylobo.com or on Twitter @paloma_chapa88
