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Former Albuquerque Police Department officer Kenneth Skeens was charged last week for unlawfully arresting a disabled man struggling to complete a purchase with cash at a Target store last year.
The incident that occurred in August 2022 was captured on bodycam footage, which was released last week after New Mexico’s Attorney General filed criminal charges against Kenneth Skeens over his unlawful conduct.
Kenneth Skeens, who was fired on February 2023 in connection to the incident, is accused of engaging in abusive behavior against a 53-year-old man with disabilities who was struggling to make a purchase at a Target at Coors and Paseo del Norte NW.
Per multiple reports, on Thursday, July 20, 2023, Skeens was charged with false imprisonment and perjury, both fourth-degree felonies. In addition, he was also slammed with filing a false police report and battery, which are misdemeanors.
In a press release, New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez also accused Skeens of lying under oath and misrepresenting facts related to the incident. Torrez said that the accused had no authority to restrain the disabled victim, who had not committed a crime that warranted detainment at the time.
“Rather than acting as a professional public servant and a guardian of vulnerable members of this community, Mr Skeens engaged in abusive and unlawful behavior that undermined public safety and violated his oath as a peace officer in the State of New Mexico.”
Bodycam video shows Kenneth Skeens arresting a man with disabilities in Target
The bodycam footage released last week showed Kenneth Skeens approach a man trying to pay for a bicycle with cash splayed out in front of him in the self-checkout aisle at Target.
The man who appeared confused can be seen visibly struggling to purchase. Kenneth Skeens was captured confronting the man who seemingly had trouble conversing with the officer. As Skeens probed the 53-year-old regarding the delay, the man was heard saying:
“It just took me a little while.”
As the man, seemingly rattled by Skeens’s presence, struggled to finish the purchase, the officer ordered him to collect the cash before threatening him with criminal trespassing. Shortly after, multiple officers, including Skeens, can be seen grabbing the man by his arms and dragging him from the store while his feet slide on the ground, visibly resisting them.
Outside, the man was forcefully planted on the floor while he was repeatedly heard saying, “I did not do anything wrong,” before calling 911. While the visibly shaken man called 911, he complained about “security” mishandling him, giving the impression that he wasn’t aware police officers were detaining him.
When an officer asked the individual’s name, he replied, “None of your business,” to which the officer responded,
“Alright, then you’re under arrest.”
Kenneth Skeens allegedly has a history of using unreasonable force
The man, who was charged with concealing identity and resisting, evading, or obstructing an officer, was found unfit to stand trial after he was determined incompetent.
“He clearly hadn’t committed a crime. And, in the absence of criminal activity, there was simply no justification for the officer to engage with him in the way that he did and to escalate the situation in the way that he did,” New Mexico’s Attorney General Raúl Torrez said in a press release.
While Kenneth Skeens, the primary officer in the incident, was charged with unlawful arrest, it is unclear if two other Albuquerque police officers — Marcos Flores and Gregory Radigan — who were also involved in the call at the store are facing disciplinary action.
In May 2023, Kenneth Skeens, alongside Marcos Flores, was named in a wrongful death lawsuit. Skeens was accused of fatally shooting 27-year-old Keshawn Thomas, whose death sparked protests in Albuquerque.
The lawsuit, which claimed that the officers involved had a history of unreasonable use of force, made several mistakes, including failing to perform life-saving efforts while waiting for paramedics.
