The Albuquerque Police Department on Wednesday detailed the first police shooting of 2023, which stemmed from a man shooting a gun in the air late last month in a neighborhood off West Central. Deputy Cmdr. Kyle Hartsock, with APD’s Criminal Investigations Division, said officers Anthony Guerrera, Ralph Rodriguez, Garrett Maxson, Eduardo Munoz and Angel Ortiz-Arviso shot at Francisco Macias, 32, on March 29 when he allegedly pointed a gun at his friend. Macias was disarmed by one friend and officers used a less-lethal sponge round and Taser to detain him as he appeared to use another friend as a shield. “I’m still amazed that nobody was injured or killed during this whole incident,” Police Chief Harold Medina said. He added that the shooting displayed the progress made with police reforms: APD had a lieutenant on the scene and officers slowed things down and eventually switched to less-lethal options. “There’s a lot of those things that the officers did on this day, in particular, that really led to what we’ve been trying to change,” Medina said. “… We’re still going to investigate it to make sure that all policies were followed.” Hartsock said a bullet was pulled from Macias’ foot but APD couldn’t determine if it was one of the bullets fired by Macias or one of dozens fired at him by the five officers. Francisco Macias (MDC) Following Macias’ arrest, according to court records, prosecutors dropped false imprisonment and aggravated assault charges against him because the victims — his mother and friends — refused to cooperate. Sarafina Macias, Macias’ mother, told the Journal on Wednesday the family just wants to move past the incident. She said she believed her son was high at the time but said he still tells her he wasn’t. “I’m trying to figure it out myself still. I’m trying to piece it all together, you know?” Sarafina Macias said. “He’s never acted that way. He’s always been a hard worker. He takes care of his kids. He’s a good dad. It’s just something so out of character for him.” Hartsock said APD is working with the District Attorney’s Office on possible misdemeanor charges for Macias, such as negligent use of a deadly weapon as video captured him shooting the gun in the air before police arrived. The Multi-Agency Task Force is investigating the police shooting and whether officers followed policies. The complete investigation will then be forwarded to the DA’s Office for review. Of the five officers who fired their guns, Guerrera and Rodriguez have been with APD since 2014; Maxson since 2016; Munoz since 2014; and Ortiz-Arviso since 2022. None of the officers have been in a prior police shooting. APD released 911 calls, officers’ lapel video, police helicopter video and a person’s cellphone video — which showed Macias firing a gun in the air several times before police arrived. None of the videos clearly caught the moment Macias pointed a gun at his friend, which is what police said prompted officers to open fire on him. Sarafina Macias called 911 around 6:30 p.m. and said Macias, who was not yet armed, had hit her and another relative. Soon after, Macias called 911 and told a dispatcher someone was holding his mother hostage. Police said no officers were immediately available but then a neighbor reported Macias was shooting a gun, leading police to upgrade the priority of the call and respond by 7 p.m. to the 4600 block of Glendale NW. Officers found an armed Macias with two friends in a front yard and ordered him to drop his gun, telling him, “You’re going to get shot” otherwise. Hartsock said Macias went behind a vehicle and officers then saw him point the gun at his friend, leading them to shoot 37 times. Although you can’t clearly see Macias point the gun, officers say “he pointed at him” and video caught the friend with his arms up, apparently out of fear, before police fired. Helicopter video captured Macias and the two friends fleeing to the backyard before one of the friends wrestled the gun from Macias and threw it out of reach. Then, according to video, Macias picked the other friend off the ground and used him as a shield as police approached. Officers first shot Macias with a less-lethal sponge round and then used a Taser to detain him. Hartsock said Macias was shot in the foot and the projectile was removed Tuesday. “It’s unclear if it came from his own weapon or one of our weapons,” he said. Hartsock said police are still investigating how Macias got the gun he fired in the air but noted he was not prohibited from having one and it was not stolen. However, police did find a stolen shotgun inside Macias’ home. In a twist, police discovered the shotgun was bought online by Julian Sanchez, 21, before being stolen off a shipping truck. Sanchez was fatally shot by police last year after crashing his car into the median of Tramway. Sanchez was one of 18 people shot at by officers in 2022, and one of 10 who died.