Albuquerque body cam footage shows suicide by cop of Frank Baty

KRQE News 13 has received the video of a deadly police shooting back in June. Albuquerque Police Department officers responded to a disturbance call in the Andaluz Hotel. As officers were wrapping up that call, Frank Baty drove up to the scene on 2nd street and appeared to be holding a gun. He told officers he wanted them to shoot him. Body cam footage showed the moment officers opened fire killing the 58-year-old.

Police say before the video was rolling he told them they were going to have to shoot him. “Put the gun down. Put it down. Put it down. I don’t want to have to shoot you, put it down,” said a responding officer. Video shows officers pleading with Frank Baty, again and again, to put down his gun. “I don’t want to have to shoot you man. Put it down. ‘No.’ Put it down, please put it down. ‘No.’ Can you please put it down? ‘No.’

Trying once more to reason with Baty, officers attempted to engage him, “What’s your name? What’s your name? The scene quickly escalates with officers opening fire, shooting at Baty and his SUV at least 10 times. ‘Shots fired, shots fired. Stay in the car. Stay in the car.”

After firing, officers quickly backed away, Baty was in the driver’s seat dying. About eight minutes later officers moved in looking for the weapon and signs of movement. “Anybody else in the vehicle? No, back seat is clear. Who’s got gloves? We’re working on that right now. Where’s the gun? You see all the way through that back window, the back side is clear. I can’t see where the gun went,” officers said. Officers made contact trying to see if Baty was alive and pulled him out of the driver’s seat.

Baty was transported to a local hospital where he died. APD says after a search of Baty’s vehicle, the weapon turned out to be a BB gun. A look at online court records shows Baty with about a half-dozen domestic violence charges in the 90’s, but no recent criminal charges.