Although the woman driving the Minivan did everything wrong as far as far how not to act with cops, shooting at a moving car is dangerous. NBC News a New Mexico State Police officer who fired at a minivan full of children during a traffic stop last month has been suspended.
Officer Elias Montoya has been suspended with pay pending a disciplinary investigation into a traffic incident that took place near the town of Taos, New Mexico State Police Chief Pete Kassetas told The Associated Press Thursday.
The incident was captured by a dashboard camera on the police vehicle. As driver Oriana Farrell drives away from a traffic stop inwhich another officer bashed her van's window with his stick, Montoya can be seen shooting at the vehicle full of kids as young as six.
Farrell then takes off on a four-minute high speed chase into Taos and cutting in the wrong way traffic before eventually pulling over and giving up in front of a hotel. She and her 14-year-old son were later arrested.
The woman had been stopped for speeding and fled twice after arguing with an officer.
The video garnered national attention, and Kassetas said he would launch an internal investigation, according to the AP.More here
UPDATE DEC 7 2013 Officer fired!
ABC News reports the New Mexico State Police officer who fired shots at a minivan full of children during a chaotic October traffic stop has been fired, a spokesman with the law enforcement agency said Friday.Lt. Emmanuel Gutierrez, a State Police spokesman, said he confirmed with State Police Chief Pete Kassetas that Officer Elias Montoya was no longer employed by the department. Montoya's termination was effective at 5 p.m. Friday.
Montoya has 30 days to appeal his firing to the Public Safety Advisory Commission, which is made up of civilians appointed by the governor. Montoya, who had been with the department for about 12 years, doesn't have a listed phone number.
More here
