New Mexico police fired on a minivan containing six passengers–including five kids–after a routine traffic stop escalated into a chase.
The entire encounter was captured on a police dashboard camera. State troopers pulled over Oriana Ferrell for going 71 mph in a 55 mph zone near Taos, New Mexico. After arguing with the officer about whether she would contest the $125 ticket, Ferrell evidently drove off before he was finished with her, so police chased her down and pulled her over again. This time, they ordered her out of the car.
“Look, I’m going to ask you one more time to get out of the vehicle and then I’m going to pull you out, OK?” said the officer. “You’re already facing evading charges. You ran away from me.”
“Sir, I pulled back over, I didn’t run away,” said Farrell. “You see my children. I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m just trying to take them to the Rio Grande.”
Farrell left the car willingly, but tried to run away again, prompting police to drag her out of the minivan. Ferrell’s 14-year-old son opened the side door of the minivan and rushed at the officers, trying to knock them off his mother. After a brief scuffle, both mother and son re-entered the vehicle, contrary to police orders. One officer then began smashing the van window with his baton, breaking the glass. Amid the children’s screams, Ferrell started to drive away again. At that point, one of the officers fired three shots at the minivan, according to KRQE-NEWS 13.
After a police chase through Taos, Farrell and her son were arrested. Farrell is being charged with child endangerment and a misdemeanor for possession of drug paraphernalia, since police found two marijuana pipes in the minivan. The son is being charged with assaulting a police officer.
But many who watched the video of the incident say the police misbehaved as well. And Pete Kassetas, the New Mexico chief of police, agrees.
“I have, of course, reviewed the video and do have concerns relating to the conduct of the officer who discharged his firearm,” he said in a statement.
The officers involved in the incident have been placed on leave pending an investigation.
Greg Meyer, a retired police captain and expert consulted by NBC News, said the matter needed to be investigated further, but the video raised serious questions about whether the shooting was justified.
“I would be asking a lot of questions about the window smash — what’s he trying to accomplish there? And the gunfire — what’s he trying to accomplish there?” said Meyer in a statement.
New Mexico state police did not immediately respond to a request for comment.