State police investigates Belen Police Department shooting

Belen police officers exchanged gunfire with suspects fleeing on a four-wheeler Saturday evening, while investigating a stolen vehicle.

New Mexico State Police are investigating the incident, and a press release issued Sunday, Aug. 11, indicates the officers weren’t injured. It’s unknown if the two men on the four-wheeler were injured.

BPD Chief Jose Natividad said the officers have been placed on standard paid administrative leave, declining to release their names until after interviews with NMSP were completed.

At about 6 p.m., Saturday, Aug. 10, officers from the Belen Police Department were dispatched to a call regarding a suspicious vehicle parked on the train tracks on Jarales Road. When they arrived at the scene, officers were able to determine the truck was reported stolen out of the city of Albuquerque.

While waiting for a tow truck to take possession of the vehicle, a bystander approached officers and told them two men on a blue four-wheeler ATV were seen around the truck. BPD officers located the blue ATV and men at the Circle K on Reinken Avenue in the city Belen. Officers attempted to conduct a traffic stop on the four-wheeler, but it fled the area.

According to the press release from NMSP, while the officers were pursuing the men, one of them fired shots toward the officers. One of the officers shot at the suspects, and a second BPD officer made “vehicle-to-vehicle” contact with the ATV. The patrol vehicle was disabled from the collision.

The two men continued fleeing on the ATV, according to the press release. They were not identified and their whereabouts are unknown. It is unknown if they were injured during the incident.

The press release notes that New Mexico State Police believes this was an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the New Mexico State Police at 505-841-9256, option 1.