Officer Involved Shooting

Location:    Silver City, New Mexico

On May 09, 2013, at about, 9:40pm, officers from the Silver City Police Department responded to an abandoned 911 call in the area of the Shady Grove Trailer Park which is located south of the Taco Bell.

The caller indicated he was confronting a subject whom he believed had stolen a laptop from him. According to the information, the dispatcher lost contact with the subject because it sounded like there was a physical struggle occurring.

Upon arrival the officers talked with the caller, and then began checking the area for the other persons involved because they had left the scene prior to their arrival. The officers had heard dogs barking on the south side of the trailer park and began searching a wooded/brushy area near the intersection of 16th and Silver streets. While searching the area, an officer located a subject lying on his stomach, apparently attempting to hide. While the officer was giving the subject commands, the subject rose to his feet and pointed what the officer thought was a weapon at him. The officer fired one shot at the subject who then fled. The officers then temporarily lost the subject; however, the subject was located a short time later, about a block away, hiding under a trailer in the trailer park. The subject was taken into custody without further incident.

During a search of the wooded/brushy area an object was found wrapped in black tape. The object was similar in shape to a handgun.

Deputies from the Grant County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the incident. The New Mexico State Police was contacted to conduct the investigation because the officer discharged his firearm at the subject. The officer has been placed on mandatory administrative leave with pay.

The subject, David Beckner, 36, with an address in Hanover, NM, was arrested on an outstanding warrant out of the Bayard Magistrate Court, which was issued on or about April 25, 2013. The warrant was for four counts of Forgery, each a 4th Degree Felony, and one count of Concealing Identity, a petty misdemeanor. He was booked into the Grant County Detention Center where his bond was set at $21,000. Further charges are pending.