Albuquerque Police release footage on a deadly police shooting of a Marine Corps veteran
By: -----
Albuquerque, NM - Albuquerque police said they spent hours trying to help Sean Omara before SWAT officers shot and killed him outside his Westside apartment.
Police released the new information more than three weeks after the shooting at the Odyssey Apartments on the Westside in August.
Police said 39-year-old Sean Omara called 911 multiple times for hours before officers shot and killed him. Officers said they worried the Marine Corps veteran was in a mental health crisis.
Officers filed a report for Albuquerque Police Department’s Crisis Intervention Unit and requested a mobile crisis unit, but said none were available.
From 1:30 a.m. on Aug. 11 to just after 6 that evening, officers said they stayed concerned about Omara’s mental health after responding to his first 911 call.
At one point, officers asked whether he felt safe in his home and whether he had thoughts of suicide. Police said he told them he felt safe and did not have thoughts of suicide. Officers also offered resources, which he refused.
Police had planned to get Omara out of his apartment, but that changed when police said he came out with a rifle and two SWAT officers shot him.
“While it is unfortuante, and it was clear he was under mental duress, there was not a reason legally they could take him into the hospital at that time,” Chief Cecily Barker said.
Police later recovered three firearms and 117 bullet casings from Omara’s apartment.