BCSO deputy placed on leave as fatal crash investigation continues

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New video shows what happened shortly before a fatal crash involving a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy. A woman has died and the deputy is on leave.

“The call on the radio sounded something like, ‘She checked the brakes.'”

This summer, Bernalillo County deputies responded to a fatal car accident in northeast Albuquerque. A BCSO deputy was one of the drivers involved. Now we have a better idea of ​​what led to this fatal crash.

Deputy Bryan Lassley says it started with a proactive patrol of the neighborhood.

“A vehicle entered the intersection quite abruptly. Stop for a moment. And I could see the driver, I couldn’t see her so well, I could see a silhouette, like I was looking around. I didn’t see it looking directly at me. But then I was driving north and then I saw in my mirror that it didn’t have a license plate so I made a U-turn,” said BCSO Bryan Lassley.

He later told investigators he spotted the car again and tried to follow it.

APD’s new crash report shows that Lassley and Alexandria Gerard were both driving 70 miles per hour five seconds before the crash – the posted speed limit there is 25 miles per hour.

Home security video from moments before the crash shows how closely the officer followed her. Then, right after he turns his back on her, Gerard takes off and crashes into a wall. According to APD, she was not wearing a seatbelt.

Investigators reconstructed what happened using interviews and videos, but the actual crash could not be filmed.

APD officer: “Should you guys have a dashcam or something like that, what’s going on?”

BCSO deputy: “Not necessarily… (inaudible)… but this is a brand new unit.”

Lassley’s unit had not yet installed an onboard camera and he only turned on his lapel camera when he checked on Gerard.

“I went to see if I had one, I think at a welfare check before I picked up Schulte. And then I went to Edith and Montano and I forgot to turn mine on,” Lassley said.

The accident report alleges that Lassley was partially responsible for the fatal crash because he drove recklessly by speeding and following too closely.

Additionally, he had not turned on his red and blue emergency lights during the second traffic stop, and she may not have known the police were trying to pull her over.

A BCSO spokesperson says Lassley is still on regular administrative leave pending the investigation.

A spokesperson for the Bernalillo County District Attorney says that based on its close working relationship with APD and BCSO, the office believes this case involves a conflict of interest. The office is currently contacting other DA partners to determine who will take the case.

It is still unclear what charges Lassley will face.