Albuquerque police detail fatal shooting of woman pointing phone

Apr. 12—The officer had called Sharon Voigt to ask if she would be willing to press charges against her daughter for stealing the family's car. Voigt hesitated, her voice wavering between a mother's love and a desperation to get her daughter help.

Then the officer pressed Voigt, "I get it, she's your child, but as an adult, when are they going to learn their lesson if they don't face the consequences of their actions?"

The mother relented, "I do, I'm tired of this. I'm just tired of it."

Within an hour, her daughter was dead.

Mariah Voigt, 32, had been shot by veteran Albuquerque police officer David Nix after she pointed a phone at him as if it were a gun.

Toxicology reports found Mariah Voigt had a high level of methamphetamine in her system, more than twice the amount reported in those "who exhibited violent and irrational behavior."

On Friday, the Albuquerque Police Department gave a play-by-play description of the March 19 shooting and shared evidence, including drone video that showed Voigt clearly holding a phone 20 seconds before she was shot by officer Nix.

APD said the officer operating the drone later told investigators he thought Voigt may have had a phone, "but he was not sure because of the glare" on the 3-by-5-inch drone screen.

"As he attempted to determine whether the object was a gun or a phone, Voigt abruptly jumped out of the shed and took a shooting stance," according to APD.

In lapel camera video from officer Nix, Voigt was 60 feet away and — from that distance — appeared to be aiming a gun when she emerged from a backyard shed in Northeast Albuquerque.

Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock, who oversees APD's Criminal Investigations Division, said officer Nix later told investigators he "thought she was aiming a handgun."

"I looked through my optic and I saw my red dot somewhere near the right side of her chest and I just started to shoot," Hartsock said, parroting Nix's words. "I was waiting for a bullet, I was waiting to feel the sting of the impact of a bullet hitting me somewhere on my body."

Hartsock said another officer who fired a less-lethal 40 mm foam round told investigators he believed Voigt had a gun and he used the less-lethal foam round because he had no time to switch to his duty gun.

Nix has been with APD since 2008 and has not been in any prior shootings. Hartsock said Nix has since returned to active duty.

Voigt's family was too distraught to speak to the Journal on Friday after watching the briefing.

An online obituary said Voigt, of Taos, "had a presence that filled a room with warmth and love." She is survived by her parents, grandparents, siblings and "her sweet dog Money."

"Constant smiles, endless hugs, and big laughs. She loved being with her family and spending time with those she held close to her heart," according to Voigt's obituary. "Mariah is so loved and will be missed by many."

Some relatives took to Facebook to blast APD, calling them "(expletives) with badges" and saying, "the anger I feel will never ever cease."

In a more measured response, a cousin said Voigt "made a mistake and was unarmed."

"She wasn't a risk to anyone's safety. She was afraid of the consequences and death should have never been an option," the woman wrote in a post. "Now we are all left with a huge loss that can never be replaced."

'Life and death decisions'

Hartsock said the incident began around 2:46 p.m., when officers pulled over a stolen car at the post office on Candelaria near Eubank. The driver, Mariah Voigt, walked away into the neighborhood nearby, and an officer detained the passenger.

Hartsock said 15 minutes later, an officer saw Voigt jump a fence into a backyard and spotted her on the roof of a house.

Lapel video shows that around 4:15 p.m., the officer called Voigt's mother to ask if she would press charges "on the person that was in custody" of her car. Sharon Voigt asked if it was Mariah, and if her daughter was in jail.

"We're currently trying to get your daughter. She's hiding from us. She ran from us," the officer told her, adding that APD learned Mariah Voigt "cut ties with the family and just took the car."

Sharon Voigt asked if she can call the officer back, telling him "it's just a lot," but he pushed the issue, and she agreed to press charges.

Hartsock said a police dog helped officers find Voigt hiding inside a shed.

Drone video showed the police dog circling the shed, jumping and scratching at the door, before being called out of the yard by officers. Voigt opens the shed door and can be seen holding something while peeking outside.

The drone video zooms in and Voigt can be seen holding a large, rectangular smartphone between both hands, pressing her fingers into it as if it were something else. Voigt then grabs a cultivator garden tool but puts it down, again clasping the phone in her hands.

Several seconds pass before she raised her arms and popped out from the shed door, pointing the phone as if it were a handgun. When the shots were fired, Voigt retreated into the shed, but bullets pierced the wall, with one striking her in the chest.

In lapel video, the reaction from the officers shows they interpreted a real threat in the moment, hiding behind a wall and each other after shooting at Voigt. Voigt fell and rolled out of the shed onto the ground.

As the officers handcuff Voigt and clear the shed for weapons, a phone can be seen lying in the grass beside her. Voigt, appearing confused more than anything, asked the officers, "What the (expletive) has happened?"

She was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Toxicology reports found Voigt had 1,300 nanograms per milliliter of methamphetamine in her system.

A similar amount — 1,900 ng/ml — was found in the system of Kenneth Reiss, a man fatally shot by police in 2020 after reporting phantom burglars in his home and firing a gun toward officers while yelling, "You are not police." Voigt's death also echoed the 2022 fatal police shooting of Collin Neztsosie, who was killed by officers after he repeatedly pointed a phone at them from a distance.

After reviewing Neztsosie's shooting, APD officials suggested that equipping units with a spotting scope could have helped officers see what he was holding.

APD Chief Harold Medina called Voigt's death "tragic" and — in a refrain also used after police killed Reiss and Neztsosie — said it's a reminder that the community needs more resources to help those battling substance abuse and mental health issues. He added, "I think it's also imperative to recognize that our officers are making life-and-death decisions at the spur of the moment."

Medina then talked about his own fatal shooting in 2002, when he killed a teenage boy wielding a BB gun.

"I lived this, and I saw what it was to make a split-second decision. So anybody who hasn't been in that position, it's very easy for them to sit on their couch and say, 'Oh, you should have done it this way,'" Medina said. "But when you're actually in the moment, and you've actually lived that, it will change your perspective for the rest of your life."