A coalition of people who’ve had family members killed by the Albuquerque Police Department delivered a petition on Wednesday to New Mexico’s U.S. Attorney calling for 13 police officers to be indicted.
Activists said they were disheartened but hope their efforts are not in vain.
Immediately after delivering more than 47,000 signatures to the Department of Justice, Kenneth Ellis II, whose son was shot and killed by Albuquerque police almost five years ago, said he felt like he was kicking a dead horse.
“I’ve managed to keep my cool over this for the past four and a half years," Ellis said, "but I’m starting to lose it. It's obvious that there are not going to be indictments. That’s pretty much what we hear. For god's sake, these men are getting away with murder!”
Ellis said city leaders have an opportunity to set an example for the rest of the world.
In October the Department of Justice signed a consent decree with the City of Albuquerque for reform after a federal investigation found that officers engaged in a pattern of unconstitutional excessive and deadly force.
Since 2010 there have been 27 fatal officer involved shootings in Albuquerque.
No officers have been indicted.
