Amelia Baca shooting gets new attention in appeals court 


The 10th Circuit Appeals Court is set to rule on whether a court erred in finding a Las Cruces Police Department officer had legal immunity when he killed 75-year-old Amelia Baca in 2022.  

It’s unclear when the ruling could come down. Still, the court heard appeal arguments on Nov. 20 from lawyers representing Baca’s family in a wrongful death lawsuit against the city of Las Cruces and its police department.  

The family has argued since August 2022 that Baca’s civil rights were violated when she was shot dead by a police officer at her home in Las Cruces on April 16, 2022. That case was dismissed in October 2023 after a federal judge found the officer’s actions constitutional and said he was entitled to qualified immunity. Shortly after the ruling, Baca’s family appealed.  

The hearing was the latest in the long aftermath of one of the most controversial police shootings in recent memory. It follows a $2.75 million settlement between the Baca family and the city in state court and the state Attorney General’s decision to hold back criminal charges against the officer, Jared Cosper, despite calls for charges from Baca’s family and some in the community.  

“There are two issues before the court here, and they are the two prongs of qualified immunity,” said Eric Loman, an attorney representing Baca’s family, during the Nov. 20 hearing.  

Qualified immunity is a legal doctrine that protects government employees from being found personally liable for possible constitutional violations. The doctrine is meant to protect government employees so they can act without fear of constant litigation; but it has also come under scrutiny, as it often shields police and police departments from accountability in questionable use-of-force cases.  

In September 2023, federal Judge Robert Brack found Cosper did have immunity. His evaluation of whether Cosper used excessive force, given the situation, and whether he was entitled to qualified immunity stemmed from a brief and violent 43 seconds.  

The last 43 seconds 

This section of the story describes a shooting and includes rough language used by a police officer.

Body camera footage obtained via public records request shows Cosper pulling up to Baca’s home on the 800 block of Fir Avenue.  

Long before the call for services that ended her life, Baca had been diagnosed with a form of dementia, according to her family. This left her with memory loss and confusion, and on the evening of Apr. 16, 2022, those symptoms flared.  

One of Baca’s adult daughters, also acting as her caretaker, called 911 requesting help.  

“I really need an officer or an ambulance or someone because my mother is getting aggressive right now.” the daughter said, according to released 911 audio.  

The daughter also told dispatchers that Baca had dementia, that Baca had thrown hot water at her, and that there were children in the house. “I’m hiding in a room because she is threatening to kill me,” the daughter said. 

The daughter and her children left the home before police arrived, while Baca’s adult daughter and adult granddaughter arrived to help Baca. 

Per the police footage, when Cosper arrives he asks the daughter and grandmother to come out as he stands in a tight nook that abuts Baca’s front door. The two women comply, telling Cosper, “Please be very careful with her.” 

But almost before the women finish saying that, Cosper draws his gun and shouts, “Set it down,” seeing that Baca holds kitchen knives in each hand.  

At this point, the scene becomes chaotic. Cosper’s decision to pull his gun in this narrow space has left him hemmed in. In front of him is Baca, with two knives. He tries yelling at her, “Drop the knife, drops the fucking knife, do it now,” but Baca does not comply. Behind him, the two women are pleading with Cosper to lower his gun. He tells them, “Back up, back up,” until another officer arrives to separate them. The women also tell Cosper that Baca has a mental illness, to which Cosper responds, “OK, back up.” 

Even with the extra space, Cosper continues yelling at Baca with his gun drawn, trying to get her to drop the knives. Baca responds to him, but her words cannot be heard on the body camera recording. She also transfers the knives to hold both in one hand.  

She gestures to another room in her house, and Cosper responds by gesturing toward the ground before him, saying, “Put it down now.” 

Baca takes a few steps forward, at which point Cosper fires two rounds into the 75-year-old woman, with her daughters a few feet away.  

Baca dies a few minutes later, leaving a pool of blood in her doorway. One of her daughters faints, and the other screams in agony as more police arrive. Cosper and the other officer clear the house, finding a teenager barricaded inside.  

Cosper is taken away from the scene, as is LCPD protocol in a police shooting, before more officers and first responders arrive.  

On appeal 

It’s entirely unknowable what Baca perceived or what she was even capable of perceiving during the final 43 seconds of her life. As both a Spanish speaker and someone in the throes of dementia, it’s unclear if she understood Cosper’s commands or what was happening.  

Still, Loman said Cosper’s actions left a lot to be desired.  

“Officer Cosper immediately sees Amelia Baca standing there and pours gasoline onto the situation, which had been very calm and peaceful when he arrived. And it is that escalation, not just a failure to de-escalate, but it is that escalation that amounts to a (civil rights) violation,” Loman said.  

Loman also argues that Cosper could have backed away from Baca or beckoned her outside the house to give her more space and options.  

Philomena Hausler, an attorney for Cosper and the city, disagreed and said it was essential to consider the totality of the circumstances. She pointed out that the 911 call –while confirming that Baca was suffering from a mental health episode – also ended abruptly with the call line still open.  

“The officer had to make a decision in a split second,” Hausler said. 

However, the judges questioned Hausler about whether Cosper’s actions were reasonable given the situation.  

“She looks to me like someone who's disoriented, and she takes two small steps, and she's dead,” one judge said.  

Still, the judges – Allison Eid, Gregory Phillips and Harris Hartz – did not indicate what their ruling might be from the bench.