GRAPHIC VIDEO: Clovis Police release video of officer shooting

CLOVIS, NM (KCBD) - Officials with the Clovis Police Department have released body camera footage from a shooting that injured a Clovis police officer on Wednesday, August 29. **WARNING** The following video may not be suitable for some viewers due to strong language and violence.

Police arrested 34-year-old Anthony Baca on August 31. Baca is suspected of shooting an officer who attempted to arrest him on an outstanding warrant.

Police reportedly stopped Baca on a bicycle on Aug. 29 for a minor violation and attempted to make an arrest for the outstanding warrant.

Authorities say Baca ran from the officer and was tased whenever police caught up with him. A bullet struck a responding officer sometime during the incident, police said. The officer was treated and released at Plains Regional Medical Center.

The Clovis Police Department released the GRAPHIC video with the following warning:

WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT

To our Community,

We want you to be aware of the graphic content of the video we have posted on our Facebook page. This is most likely the first time the Clovis Police Department has posted video of interaction between a person suspected of a crime and our Officers. I say suspected, because although there may be enough information, probable cause, to support an arrest warrant, a person is not guilty until either a judge or a jury convicts them.

There has been speculation and conjecture about the incident leading to Officer Chris Caron being shot. We want to clear up any speculation. Understand, most often video is held because an investigation is ongoing or the release of the video may interfere with the case. I have reviewed the video, and with the support of our Chief of Police and City Management, it was decided this needed to be released.

The video on our page has been stopped at five minutes and forty-eight seconds. There is more to the video after this, but these first few minutes are the clearest representation of how the event transpired on August 29, 2016. You will hear some coarse language, but this is the way some people talk normally or when they are under stress. If you watch the video and it affects you emotionally, it should. These Officers are your neighbors, your friends, and in some cases people you went to school with.

Clovis is a great community. It is great because of the people who live here. The outpouring of support for Officer Caron and the continuing support our community has for their members of law enforcement is amazing. We hope you are as proud of us as we are of our town. As the closing sentence of the Clovis Police Department Mission Statement reads, the purpose of your Police Department has always been and will always be about making Clovis "a safer community to live, work and play in."

Thank you, and Stay Safe.

Roman J. Romero
Captain, Clovis Police Department

Again **WARNING** The following video may not be suitable for some viewers due to strong language and violence.

He has been charged with assault with intent to commit a violent felony on a peace officer, failure to appear, district court violation of conditions of release, and district court failure to appear for pre-trial.

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