NEWS
APD details police shooting that injured knife-wielding man
Suspect was released from jail Monday on his own recognizance
Published
The Albuquerque Police Department on Tuesday provided evidence and details of a police shooting that left one man injured in the North Valley last month.
Benjamin Siegling, 37, was booked into the Metropolitan Detention Center on charges of concealing his identity, resisting arrest and aggravated assault on a peace officer after the shooting.
He was released from jail on his own recognizance Monday with conditions of release, 鈥渄espite his lengthy criminal record,鈥� states a Tuesday news release from APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos.
He also had outstanding warrants at the time of the incident.
The June 2 incident was the fourth police shooting in a two-week span, a frequency that spurred at least one protest and criticism from the City Council. Albuquerque police have shot seven people in 2026, with five of those being fatal.
In a prerecorded video shown during the news conference, Cmdr. Ray Del Greco said the situation began around 8:30 p.m. when Sgt. Paul Durham was patrolling the Studio 6 extended-stay hotel near Osuna and Jefferson NE as part of an operation addressing an increase of aggravated assaults.
Durham, who has been with APD since 2011 and has been in two prior police shootings in 2019 and 2020, stopped Siegling after the man jaywalked, Del Greco said.
Siegling identified himself as 鈥淢atthew Siegling鈥� and told Durham he did not have any warrants and had simply been walking across the street, according to lapel footage shown during the briefing. Durham checked the information he was given and realized it did not match the man he had detained.
鈥淪ergeant Durham exited his vehicle and approached the man again, as he believed he was concealing his identity,鈥� Del Greco said. 鈥淯pon exiting his vehicle again, Sergeant Durham saw Mr. Siegling running southbound on Osuna.鈥�
Surveillance footage from a nearby McDonald鈥檚 restaurant showed Siegling running away as Durham gave chase through a parking lot.
Lapel footage showed Siegling stop and turn, walking toward Durham with an object in his hands. Police later recovered a foldable pocketknife that Siegling had dropped.
鈥淪hoot me,鈥� Siegling said in lapel footage as he approached Durham.
鈥淪top, bro,鈥� Durham said, raising his gun. 鈥淕et on the ground. Drop it.鈥�
Durham opened fire, striking Siegling once in the chest and once in the shoulder. He was taken to a hospital and released June 16, then booked into jail.
The warrants stem from two cases that happened in 2025 and 2026.
In a February 2025 case, Siegling was charged with one count of shoplifting over $500, making a false report of a fire or explosion and one count of resisting or evading an officer, according to court records.
A warrant was issued in October 2025 for Siegling's arrest after he violated probation by refusing to provide a urine sample to his probation officer.
The other warrant is from a February case when Siegling was charged with organized retail theft and 30 shoplifting charges after he allegedly stole over $25,000 worth of merchandise from a Target store in Northeast Albuquerque, according to a criminal complaint filed in Metropolitan Court.
Nakayla McClelland covers crime and breaking news. Reach her at nmcclelland@abqjournal.com or at 505-823-3857.
