SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - A passenger in a car driven by a Santa Fe woman fatally shot by a New Mexico State Police officer last November said the driver refused to pull over and told him she wanted to get home before speaking with police.
Jeremy Munoz also said he didn’t know that Jeanette Anaya, 39, a friend of his, had cocaine in her bloodstream, as would later be discovered.
Officer Oliver Wilson forced Anaya to stop by bumping his car with his vehicle. Wilson then shot Anaya when she backed up her car, striking the officer’s vehicle.
In his first public comments to journalists about the Nov. 7 incident, Munoz also said Anaya told him she was sought on an arrest warrant from a previous traffic stop.
“I told her to stop and not to worry about it,” Munoz said. “If she went to jail . we could get her out.”
Munoz said the shooting wasn’t justified, but a grand jury ruled that it was because the officer feared for his life.
Wilson told other officers he had tried to pull over Anaya because she had made a “wobbly turn” and a sudden stop. He wanted to see whether she was impaired or whether her car had mechanical troubles, he said.
Munoz said he didn’t think Anaya had committed any violations before the chase began.
Since the shooting, he has been seeing a psychiatrist for help in coping with the trauma, Munoz said. He has filed a notice that is a precursor to a possible lawsuit.
Lt. Emmanuel Gutierrez, spokesman for the state police, said Wilson is still employed with the department.
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