APD releases video of the shooting that killed Nob Hill bartender

Warning: Video below contains graphic content that may be disturbing to some viewers

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) – The Albuquerque Police Department released its timeline and video of a deadly controversial shooting that killed a well-known bartender in the University of New Mexico area last month.

It’s hard to see what happened in the seven-minute video. What is clear though is there was a lot of confusion as police showed up to a 911 call about a home invasion. “We got one fleeing. He’s bleeding. Also armed with a gun; fired shots,” Officers yelled in the August 11 lapel video.

Ken Reiss called 911 saying two gunmen broke into his house threatening to kill him in a dispute over a woman. He said he believed he’d shot one of them. When police showed up to the home on Garfield near Vassar, there were bullet holes but no one was there.

They followed a blood trail around the block to an armed man on the sidewalk behind a car, unsure if he was one of the armed robbers. In the video, you can hear Reiss yell from behind the car,’ You’re not cops — you’re not cops.’ An officer says Reiss raised the gun over the hood and he saw a muzzle flash, so they fired back.

Police then went around the car to see Reiss sitting on the sidewalk. You can see Reiss’s hands planted on the sidewalk as he tried to get up. An officer says he believed Reiss was reaching for the gun again.

Police say they did find one of Reiss’s bullet casings by the Scion. In the minutes following the shooting, you can hear the officers try to sort out all the confusion before asking each other if they’d just shot the 911 caller; who turned out to be Ken Reiss, a part-owner of Joe’s Place a few blocks away.

In the news conference, APD says they found no evidence that there was a home invasion or any armed robbers on the loose. They believe Reiss accidentally shot himself in the leg while he was on the phone with 911 but they didn’t know that at the time. A woman told police Reiss had been drinking and doing coke and was paranoid; and suspected he was doing meth.