Officer’s death still a mystery after 25 years

[Zoneboy]

Link

No one from the Mountainair Police Department attended officer Stephen Sandlin's funeral 25 years ago.

But this month, the town’s current police chief – a former New York City police sergeant – led a long-overdue memorial service to honor Sandlin as an officer shot in the line of duty.

A 4-foot-tall monument to Sandlin’s memory now sits just outside the entrance to the Police Department office, where the 21-year-old rookie officer was found dead on May 7, 1988, still in uniform; still technically on duty. He was shot once in the head, his .357 Magnum found next to his body.

On May 7 of this year, Sandlin’s 26-year-old son, who never knew his dad, was in attendance at the town’s ceremony, as was Sandlin’s father, retired Albuquerque police Lt. Tom Sandlin.

“The town … has been overshadowed by a dark cloud of mystery and deceit following the death of Stephen,” wrote Yvonne Sandlin, who is married to Tom Sandlin, in a letter this month to the Journal. She said the community joined forces “to try and right a wrong. They reached out to our family and erected a monument to honor our son.”

The case remains unsolved, but the investigation continues.

But over the past 25 years, key figures have died, including Melvin King, a prime suspect in the death that was initially labeled a suicide.

King’s arrest for drunken driving by Sandlin weeks before the officer’s death led to the police seizure at King’s rural home of 50 pounds of marijuana packaged for sale.

But the confiscated marijuana disappeared from the nearby Torrance County sheriff’s evidence room, and King was never prosecuted.

King’s death in December 2004 was ruled an accident, cause by an overdose of Tylenol. His autopsy report said he had been on a methamphetamine high and had ingested antifreeze.

Tom Gillespie, head of the state attorney general’s investigations unit in 1988, died of cancer in 2004.

After receiving citizen complaints, Gillespie had traveled to the sleepy town at the foot of the Manzanos to interview Sandlin and others in the Mountainair Police Department about the handling of police evidence.

Gillespie reportedly announced that the Attorney General’s Office would be back for more interviews. By the next evening, Sandlin was dead.

Evidence emerged that the seized marijuana disappeared from the sheriff’s custody before Sandlin was shot. But several packages showed up in Sandlin’s rental house after his death, in what AG investigators believed was a botched attempt to discredit him. Tape recordings of his traffic stops and arrests, kept at his house, are still missing.

After more that two decades, key questions remain.

Did Sandlin discover the marijuana had been stolen from the evidence room? Was he about to report the missing dope to the AG’s Office? Is that what led to his death?

Over the past two decades, the FBI joined the investigation, and the case was featured on the TV show “Unsolved Mysteries.” A federal grand jury in Denver explored the drug trafficking aspects, but no indictments related to the death emerged.

Attorney General Gary King is the fourth state attorney general to oversee the Sandlin investigation.

“I was practicing law in Moriarty when officer Sandlin was killed,” King told the crowd of about 150 who attended the recent memorial service. “I still very much remember the day that we got the news. We were stunned.”

King offered no details at the town’s ceremony to commemorate the 25th anniversary of Sandlin’s death.

But he made this pledge:

“I don’t think that I can tell you today what the truth is, but it’s something that we continue to work on. I have agents that continue to work on this case, and we hope that one day we can find out what occurred to give some closure to the family. And also, if there’s anybody that’s still out that’s responsible for this, we still want to bring them to justice.”

Mountainair Police Chief Robert Chung, who retired from the NYPD after 28 years, said he hopes that with the presence of the memorial in Mountainair, featuring Sandlin’s photo, “Somebody who may not have come forward back then will be moved to do so.”

The evening after the ceremony, Chung said he saw a man standing across the street “looking at the memorial. He was just crying his eyes out.”

Two hours later, Chung happened to drive by and noticed someone had “pulled (a car) right up near it and I think they were crying too.”

“Wouldn’t it be something if someone just looking at the memorial would be moved to maybe provide the little piece so the attorney general can put it all together?” he added.

Chung, who’s been chief for two years, said he never knew Stephen Sandlin, but “he certainly gave us a standard to which we need to aspire to. I mean, he gave up his life.”

[TheCars1986]

Thanks for that link, that was a very interesting read.

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

No one from the Mountainair Police Department attended officer Stephen Sandlin's funeral 25 years ago.

This is the most disturbing part of that article. I used to think Sandlin's death was an accident, but after reading that article I'm now convinced he was murdered and the PD helped cover up his death.

[Steve W.]

I don't remember the exact details: could investigators tell if he was sitting at a desk when he was shot or was he standing up or in a defensive position?

I just wondered because I think that would be somewhat telling about what exactly happened.

[1990 UM fan]

I have watched this case before but would need to watch it again to get the full details of it. Steve had a son who never knew him? That makes it even more sad. 25 years with no resolution. Does this mean they are still openly investigating his death?

[9DeuceCad]

While reading this article I could totally hear the high-pitch piano-like music playing in my head. It was almost as if Robert Stack himself was reading the article from inside my head...

[DarkDante]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

Thanks for that link, that was a very interesting read.



This is the most disturbing part of that article. I used to think Sandlin's death was an accident, but after reading that article I'm now convinced he was murdered and the PD helped cover up his death.

I'm sort of with you on this cars although I can see it going either way. One thing I am convinced of is that Steve Sandlin did not commit suicide and the fact that was even brought up in the segment by the authorities was nothing short of offensive and perhaps leads me to believe that there was some sort of cover up on their behalf.

The way I view it is that there was just too much controversy surrounding Officer Sandlin's life at the time of his death for the possibility of homicide to be dismissed. It's certainly a possibility and maybe even a strong possibility. My inclination is that if Officer Sandlin was murdered, it was not an inside job but a murder that was covered up by individuals in Mountainair who may have been already dirtied by their connection to drug trafficking in the area.

I think if Officer Sandlin's death was a homicide that it was in some way connected to drug trafficking and may have been subject to a cover up because of that connection.

That all being said I still am open to the suggestion that Officer Sandlin might have accidentally shot himself much in the way it was described in the UM segment.

[1990 UM fan]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

I'm sort of with you on this cars although I can see it going either way. One thing I am convinced of is that Steve Sandlin did not commit suicide and the fact that was even brought up in the segment by the authorities was nothing short of offensive and perhaps leads me to believe that there was some sort of cover up on their behalf.

The way I view it is that there was just too much controversy surrounding Officer Sandlin's life at the time of his death for the possibility of homicide to be dismissed. It's certainly a possibility and maybe even a strong possibility. My inclination is that if Officer Sandlin was murdered, it was not an inside job but a murder that was covered up by individuals in Mountainair who may have been already dirtied by their connection to drug trafficking in the area.

I think if Officer Sandlin's death was a homicide that it was in some way connected to drug trafficking and may have been subject to a cover up because of that connection.

That all being said I still am open to the suggestion that Officer Sandlin might have accidentally shot himself much in the way it was described in the UM segment.

Kind of like the Frontera women's prison drug and murder scandal

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

That all being said I still am open to the suggestion that Officer Sandlin might have accidentally shot himself much in the way it was described in the UM segment.

His gun was found 2 feet away from his body. If Sandlin had the penchant to play with his gun (as implied by Chief Carson in the segment), why did none of the other officers in his department attend his funeral? And where did those bags of drugs come from? I highly doubt a exuberant young officer like Steve Sandlin would have been stupid enough to play around with a loaded weapon and hold in close enough to his head to cause serious harm or death.

[DarkDante]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

His gun was found 2 feet away from his body. If Sandlin had the penchant to play with his gun (as implied by Chief Carson in the segment), why did none of the other officers in his department attend his funeral? And where did those bags of drugs come from? I highly doubt a exuberant young officer like Steve Sandlin would have been stupid enough to play around with a loaded weapon and hold in close enough to his head to cause serious harm or death.

Eh I still think it's remotely possible that he shot himself. As ludicrous as it might sound playing around with a weapon isn't all that uncommon and could've resulted in catastrophe here. As for why none of the other officers attended his funeral? I got the distinct impression from the segment that Sandlin wasn't the most liked individual when it came to his colleagues. I'm guessing that cooperating with an investigation aimed at the department probably made him even less of popular presence with his colleagues. That being said whether this is a case of homicide or accidental death, I'm not at all surprised that none of the other officers attended his funeral.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

Eh I still think it's remotely possible that he shot himself. As ludicrous as it might sound playing around with a weapon isn't all that uncommon and could've resulted in catastrophe here. As for why none of the other officers attended his funeral? I got the distinct impression from the segment that Sandlin wasn't the most liked individual when it came to his colleagues. I'm guessing that cooperating with an investigation aimed at the department probably made him even less of popular presence with his colleagues. That being said whether this is a case of homicide or accidental death, I'm not at all surprised that none of the other officers attended his funeral.

I'm sorry; I have a hard time envisioning this was an accidental shooting resulting from playing with a (loaded) handgun, let alone the circumstances in light of it being an accident.

Playing with a firearm IS very uncommon among those who are professionally trained to use them. No police officer would play with his or her weapon. If they had any semblance of a tendency toward that, they wouldn't have made it out of the academy.

When you're a member of a LE, first responder, or military organization, and a fellow officer or service member dies--you damn well attend that service. Period. It doesn't matter who it was, or how you felt about him or her personally. Those MPD officers' actions are highly irregular in that regard. Something stinks, badly.

[DarkDante]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

I'm sorry; I have a hard time envisioning this was an accidental shooting resulting from playing with a (loaded) handgun, let alone the circumstances in light of it being an accident.

Playing with a firearm IS very uncommon among those who are professionally trained to use them. No police officer would play with his or her weapon. If they had any semblance of a tendency toward that, they wouldn't have made it out of the academy.

Really? With all due respect that sounds more like subjective opinion than anything else. Immaturity runs it's course through all lines of work including those individuals in professions that we as a society tend to think more times than not have their act together.

I'm sorry I just cannot rule out the possibility that Steve Sandlin accidentally shot himself. I've 99.9% ruled out suicide in this instance but that is as far as I'm able to go. I do agree however with your assumption that something stinks with this case.

It seems plausible that Steve Sandlin may have gotten himself in an unenviable position where he may have revealing too much of what he knew about activities in Mountainair to the wrong people. Is there a possibility that the people whom Sandlin may have put his trust in were in the end probably people with whom he shouldn't have been so candid with? I would say that is highly likely.

[MegtheEgg86]

Originally Posted by DarkDante

Really? With all due respect that sounds more like subjective opinion than anything else. Immaturity runs it's course through all lines of work including those individuals in professions that we as a society tend to think more times than not have their act together.

Re: immaturity--certainly. But it isn't so much about immaturity as it is repetition. You spend literally hours doing nothing but "dry drills"--putting the unloaded weapon on safe, then taking it off. Putting it on safe, then taking it off, putting it on safe again, taking it off. Spending more hours learning when, where, and how to point the weapon--without a magazine nor round in the firearm. You mess up and your instructors make it very painful for you, even though the weapon was unloaded. It's beaten into your brain until it becomes muscle memory. It's a very, very rare one who deviates wildly from what he or she has been taught--and even then, the event isn't normally a willfully dangerous action like playing with the weapon, but complacency: forgetting to take the magazine out, or forgetting there's still one round in the chamber and failing to clear the weapon. You would almost have to "unlearn" your training to treat the thing like a squirt gun.

That being said, however, I do agree with you that there is a possibility that Sandlin could have accidentally shot himself--but I don't think it was because he was being an idiot with his service weapon, as Chief Carson suggests. I think it would have had to have been a complacency error.

It seems plausible that Steve Sandlin may have gotten himself in an unenviable position where he may have revealing too much of what he knew about activities in Mountainair to the wrong people. Is there a possibility that the people whom Sandlin may have put his trust in were in the end probably people with whom he shouldn't have been so candid with? I would say that is highly likely.

I agree.


ETA: I haven't seen the segment in a while (may dig it out later on tonight and check it out if I have time), but was it mentioned exactly where Sandlin's handgun was found two feet away from him?

I think that information would be pretty telling.

[DarkDante]

I have a bit of a theory on what could've happened to Officer Sandlin if his death was indeed a homicide.

To begin with I think Officer Sandlin was a good cop. I think as it was mentioned in the segment it was his life's ambition to be a police officer and once he accomplished that goal he wanted to go in there be the best possible police officer he could be. I think you could even say he was vigilant in his activities as a police officer which is somewhat referenced by Chief Carson in the segment where he relates a conversation he had with Sandlin prior to the officer's death where he told him to "Slow down son".

But I think this vigilant attitude may have (along with some woefully bad luck in where he chose to ply his trade) precipitated his death. I think it's very possible that Officer Sandlin found himself mired in a community with a great deal of drug activity and being the vigilant officer that he was took a very aggressive stance in the pursuit of those who were involved with drugs in his community.

Now this could've obviously become a problem for Sandlin if there were those in the community who did not appreciate such a vigilant attitude or approach on the part of a police officer especially if this police officer was also cooperating with an investigation into the police department in which he was working.

There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions in this case, not least of all why Officer Sandlin continued to work for the Mountainair police force after apparently encountering some issues on the job that caused him to become exceedingly frustrated with it. If these issues were related in to his investigation into the drug scene perhaps it would've been better for him to have gotten out of Mountainair all together?

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by MegtheEgg86

ETA: I haven't seen the segment in a while (may dig it out later on tonight and check it out if I have time), but was it mentioned exactly where Sandlin's handgun was found two feet away from him?

I think that information would be pretty telling.

I don't think the segment mentions the location of the gun, but one of the articles online about Steve says it was two feet away from his body when it was found.

Originally Posted by DarkDante

There are obviously a lot of unanswered questions in this case, not least of all why Officer Sandlin continued to work for the Mountainair police force after apparently encountering some issues on the job that caused him to become exceedingly frustrated with it. If these issues were related in to his investigation into the drug scene perhaps it would've been better for him to have gotten out of Mountainair all together?

He was only on the force for three weeks, IIRC. That's not enough time for him to have become frustrated with a lack of cooperation from his colleagues to seek another job elsewhere, IMO.

And the fact that none of the officers attended his funeral just reeks of their involvement in his death. I understand that they were probably bitter or angry at Steve for helping with an investigation into the ethics of the department. But what does that tell you about said department if there was an open investigation on them at the time of Steve's death?!

[DanCart]

Originally Posted by TheCars1986

I don't think the segment mentions the location of the gun, but one of the articles online about Steve says it was two feet away from his body when it was found.



He was only on the force for three weeks, IIRC. That's not enough time for him to have become frustrated with a lack of cooperation from his colleagues to seek another job elsewhere, IMO.

And the fact that none of the officers attended his funeral just reeks of their involvement in his death. I understand that they were probably bitter or angry at Steve for helping with an investigation into the ethics of the department. But what does that tell you about said department if there was an open investigation on them at the time of Steve's death?!

What also shocked me is how quickly Steve was eliminated so soon after the AG investigator made his announcement about investigating the MPD .....

If police officers were involved in Steves demise then I doubt they will solve this case