Police release video from fatal shooting

Click to watch Shooting Video

Click to watch Interview Video

CLOVIS — Brent Aguilar said he was in fear for his life and that of his fellow Clovis police officer when he used deadly force Oct. 8 while pursuing a car-thief suspect.

“Officer Aguilar began to shed tears and indicated if he had gotten hurt or worse from the suspect stabbing him, who was going to watch over Sergeant (Dagoberto) Rodriguez if Sergeant Rodriguez was hurt and if the suspect would have turned on him.”

That’s according to a report by Gerardo Hernandez, lead agent for New Mexico State Police’s investigation of the incident.

The report, other documents and video were released to The News this week through New Mexico’s Inspection of Public Records Act.

Hernandez wrote of an Oct. 11 interview with Aguilar, who fatally shot Aaron Chavez, 22, four times during a foot pursuit just after midnight days earlier outside a gas station south of the Prince Street overpass.

Events escalated quickly that night. Rodriguez was en route to a shots-fired call on the 1400 block of South Oak Street when he saw what he recognized to be a blue Mitsubishi that had been reported stolen a day earlier, parked straddling the curb and northbound lane of South Prince Street.

“Rodriguez said he passed the stop light and then turned around and proceeded to the vehicle,” wrote NMSP Agent Chester Bobbitt. “...(A)s he got behind the vehicle Mr. Chavez was standing outside the vehicle on the driver’s side, looked up at him and took off running...”

Aguilar was just behind Rodriguez, responding to the same shots fired call, when he heard Rodriguez call out a foot pursuit on police radio. He made a U-turn on Brady and joined the pursuit on foot, during which Rodriguez fell while running and announced to Aguilar that Chavez was reaching for something in his pocket.

Police lapel video depicts a chaotic scene over the six-second chase. While the footage shows first-person perspective of Aguilar sprinting toward Chavez, stopping abruptly and shooting, it’s difficult to see Chavez’ movements or anything in his hands. In interviews with officers, Aguilar said Chavez swung his arm in a circular motion in his direction. Aguilar told investigators he believed Chavez held a knife and that he feared his face or throat would be cut if he gave him a second chance to strike.

Aguilar unholstered his weapon and responded with four gunshots, each of which impacted Chavez: one to the right side of the head, one through the left elbow, one into the left side of the lower chest and one that entered the left cheek, exited the left-side lower jaw and entered the left collar bone.

EMTs pronounced Chavez dead at the scene, where his body remained through the morning while police made detailed inventory of the events. A “metal chainsaw chain with modified metal grip handle” was found beside Chavez, though no other weapons were found on his person or inside the vehicle. Hernandez noted narcotics were found both on Chavez and in the vehicle.

Aguilar returned to duty with CPD about a week after the incident, and in April a panel of three district attorneys from around the state concluded his use of deadly force was “reasonably necessary” and recommended “that no criminal prosecution should be initiated.”

District Attorney Andrea Reeb followed that recommendation and said last month she would not pursue criminal charges.