Attorney: Officer with ‘history of abuse and deceit’ fatally shot man in mental health crisis

Loved ones of a man who was suffering from mental health issues when he was shot and killed by police late last year intend to file a lawsuit, alleging the officer who shot him had a “history of abuse and deceit” and the city had not done enough to hold him accountable.

Pete “Jacob”  Martinez, 36, was shot twice  — nearly at the same time — by a nonlethal round and a lethal round. He died from the lethal shot fired by Officer Angelo Lovato — who has a history of excessive force, two prior shootings and is considered an unreliable witness by the District Attorney’s Office.

Attorney Mark Fine — who is representing Martinez’s family — wrote in a notice of Civil Rights Act claims that the shooting was a “tragic object lesson on how a long-standing culture of non-accountability at the top of APD undermines the City’s laudable efforts to prevent its police from using excessive deadly force against people in crisis.”

“Obviously it was a dangerous situation for the officers,” Fine said in an interview with City Desk ABQ. “It was one which I think in a lot of ways APD handled well — but our argument is that there was no way that Officer Lovato should have been in that situation given his history.” 

The Internal Affairs Force Division has finished its investigation into the shooting and found that it was out of policy, Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesperson for the Albuquerque Police Department told City Desk ABQ. 

Gallegos said that the recommendations for discipline go through the chain of command and that process is ongoing. He said Lovato is on military leave. 

Gallegos also said the Multi-Agency Task Force investigation is ongoing.

Lovato, who began his career at APD in 2003, is still employed by the department. Gallegos said. 

Unreliable witness

Lovato is one of 20 officers on the Second Judicial District Attorney’s Office list of law enforcement who have Brady-Giglio disclosures. The office keeps track of law enforcement officers who have ethical or legal violations in their personnel files that could impact how a jury perceives their testimony in court. 

“APD’s belated delivery of high competency scores on the Independent Monitor’s most recent report will mean nothing unless and until the City’s accountability systems can reliably prevent an officer with Officer Lovato’s history of abuse and deceit from gripping the trigger of a firearm pointed at a person in crisis,” Fine wrote. 

The city is nearing the end of a decade-long reform effort and recently announced that the police department has met the requirements laid out in a settlement agreement.

Martinez was suspected of shoplifting at Kohl’s near the Cottonwood Mall on Nov. 25. When police confronted him, he led them on a foot pursuit to a business park on Alameda Boulevard. Police video shows Martinez pointing a firearm at his head multiple times during the incident. 

He was shot while looking for a cigarette and even asked officers for a cigarette before the deadly shooting, according to Fine. 

“In addition to obviously being in crisis in the moment, Mr. Martinez was also mentally ill, having been recently diagnosed with Paranoid Personality Disorder,” Fine wrote.

In the letter, Fine states that the use of the nonlethal baton round to incapacitate Martinez was consistent with the city’s court-mandated efforts to stop its police from perpetuating, “a long-standing pattern of using excessive deadly force against people in crisis.”

“This decision to deploy nonlethal force might have been life-saving if Officer Angelo Lovato had not needlessly shot and killed Mr. Martinez with a bullet at the same time,” Fine wrote. “Officer Lovato says he used deadly force because Mr. Martinez was raising his gun toward other officers. Video clearly shows no such movement.”  

Fine said he expects to file the lawsuit in state court within a couple of weeks.

Both Gallegos, and Staci Drangmeister, a city spokesperson, told City Desk ABQ that they would respond in court once a lawsuit has been filed. 

Attorney John D’Amato, who represents the police union, said he is currently unable to comment on this case. 

Albuquerque police officers have shot nine people since Martinez’s death, Gallegos said.

“In eight of the nine, the person was armed with a handgun. In one incident the suspect shot and seriously wounded the officer,” he said. 

‘Historic lack of restraint’ 

In his letter, Fine stated that Lovato’s time at APD has been marked by excessive force, abuse of power and professional dishonesty. 

“In addition to at least one other use of deadly force, he was found to have committed excessive force against a New Mexico State Police officer,” Fine said. “He was caught providing a victim with falsified police information in order to avoid accountability for an on-duty traffic accident that he caused.” 

According to court documents, Lovato was involved in the unlawful arrest of an off-duty New Mexico State Police officer in 2005 at the Library Bar and Grill. A lawsuit in the case resulted in a jury awarding the State Police officer $35,000.

Although APD said Lovato had previously been involved in one shooting, he actually had been involved in at least two. 

According to a 2007 Albuquerque Journal article by City Desk ABQ editor Carolyn Carlson, in 2004 Lovato shot Sergio Jacquez after stopping him for speeding in Southwest Albuquerque. Three years later he shot Carlos Larry Archuleta six times after Archuleta allegedly lunged at him with a screwdriver. 

Lovato was also named in a 2012 case in which arrestees sued the city claiming their Fourth Amendment rights were violated for false imprisonment and arrest, excessive use of force and unlawful detention. 

“His historic lack of restraint and integrity should have disqualified him from wielding a gun in any encounter with a person in crisis,” Fine states in the letter. 

Devastated 

At the time of his death, Fine said Martinez was married but separated from his wife. Martinez also had three children from a previous relationship who now live with their grandmother. 

Neither officials with the city nor APD told Martinez’s wife about the shooting or that her husband had died. 

“There was no communication between the city and her about the loss of her husband, even though she is listed on the death certificate as a spouse,” Fine said. “It was like he was just gone.”

Fine said Martinez’s wife didn’t find out about his death until a full day after the incident. 

“I can tell you his wife was devastated by this,” Fine said.