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Lawsuit Says LCPD Officer Mistakenly Fired Gun During Traffic Stop

las-cruces.org

LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP)- Two New Mexico men say a Las Cruces police officer accidentally shot at them during a routine traffic stop and unlawfully held them for three hours. 

A civil rights lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court last week says officer Jeremiah McDaniel “negligently fired his gun” at Keith Anderson and Carlos Cooper after pulling them over in August 2018. According to court documents, the bullet missed Anderson’s head by mere inches.

The lawsuits say the men were then held unlawfully for three hours while investigators searched for the bullet. Court documents say police later told them to “go home.”