- Police Brutality Watch

Family alleges excessive force in fatal shooting

State Police officer Sean Wallace-- who is being sued on claims of using excessive force in a separate case-- fired the shot that killed a 44-year-old Chimayó man Sept. 22, according to a tort claim notice. The notice, filed Dec. 20 by Santa Fe attorney Robert R. Rothstein, warns the state Department of Public Safety, State Police and several of the agencies' employees that a wrongful-death lawsuit is imminent. Leo Lopez was fatally shot in his pickup after he tried to back his vehicle into officers, police say. State Police completed its investigation into the shooting and turned the case over to the office of Santa Fe District Attorney Henry Valdez. Valdez has said the case will be presented to a grand jury to determine whether the shooting was justified. The tort claim notice, submitted to DPS Secretary John Denko, State Police Chief Carlos Maldonado and the state Risk Management Division, alleges Wallace and other officers created an unnecessary confrontation, then fatally shot Lopez in the back while he sat in the cab of his pickup. "Our preliminary investigation leads us to conclude there was absolutely no legitimate law enforcement justification for the use of any force, and especially not deadly force, against Mr. Lopez," Rothstein states in the notice. "At the time of the shooting, Mr. Lopez was unarmed, was not actively resisting arrest, and had not committed any criminal offenses." [more] and [more]