ACLU condemns prosecutors for not charging Las Cruces police officer Jared Cosper in Amelia Baca killing
The American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico condemned the state and local prosecutors after they declined to press charges against the Las Cruces Police Department officer who killed a 75-year-old woman in 2022.
In a statement sent to the Sun-News, the ACLU called the decision not to press charges against LCPD officer Jared Cosper "shocking" and said the decision was "a stark reminder that the criminal legal system is not designed to protect the safety of our neighbors or to bring justice for those who most need it. "
Attorney General Raul Torrez and the Third Judicial District Attorney declined to charge Cosper after more than a year of passing off the case to each other before bringing in an outside evaluator and long-time police officer who argued that Cosper killed Baca in self-defense.
More: Judge finds Cosper's shooting of Amelia Baca constitutional. Here's what we know.
The report, first published by the Sun-News, criticized Cosper for repeatedly cursing at Baca and failing to de-escalate the situation. But ultimately, the report said that Baca's possession of two kitchen knives and failure to adhere to Cosper's commands to drop the knives justified him shooting her twice in the chest.
The City of Las Cruces settled a wrongful death lawsuit for Baca's family in state court for about $3 million. A federal judge dismissed a similar lawsuit in federal court earlier this year.
“The fact that both the District Attorney and the New Mexico Attorney General’s office have found this violence justifiable under current legal standards shows how desperately we need changes to the law," ACLU of New Mexico Director of Public Policy Nayomi Valdez said in the statement.
"New Mexico’s policies must reflect what our community knows all too well: the killing of Amelia Baca and killings by police across the state are too often far from justified; they are the tragic result of policy choices that give police too much power, roles that are too expansive, and little accountability. We must adopt strong, statewide, de-escalation policies and address the overly vague and permissive definition of justifiable homicide by law enforcement."
This article originally appeared on Las Cruces Sun-News: No charges against Las Cruces officer leads to condemnation from ACLU
