Albuquerque family sues APD over fatal Mariah Voigt shooting

The family of Mariah Voigt is seeking to expand a wrongful death lawsuit against the Albuquerque Police Department over the 2024 fatal shooting, arguing the death was preventable with a change in police policy. Attorneys for the family are pushing for officers and arrest teams to be told when a drone operator sees a suspect holding something that could be mistaken for a weapon.

The Albuquerque Police Department said the March 2024 shooting of 32-year-old Mariah Voigt happened when she ran from officers near Candelaria and Eubank after being accused of stealing her mom’s car. Police caught up with Voigt in a backyard shed where a drone operator watched Voigt and tried to figure out what was in her hand.

When exiting the shed, police said Voigt pointed a phone, which was mistaken for a gun, leading to an officer shooting Voigt. In a recent legal filing, Voigt’s family is now seeking to add a new argument to its wrongful death lawsuit, claiming APD drone operators observed Voigt holding a cell phone but did not convey that information to officers on the ground.

Shannon Kennedy, an attorney for Voigt’s family, said officers mistaking cell phones for guns is foreseeable.

“That’s why it’s so important if drone operators see someone with a cell phone in their hand, that the arrest teams are made aware that it’s a non-weapon,” Kennedy said.

Attorneys for the family want APD to adopt policy to inform arrest teams when suspects are holding items that could be misidentified as weapons.

The complaint also mentions 10 other deadly shooting cases involving APD, where people were in a mental crisis.

“The Voigt family is trying to honor all of these families and recognize these losses and make changes,” Kennedy said. “At the end of the day, the city has a duty to accommodate people who are in states of psychosis.”

A department spokesperson told KRQE News that they’ll respond in court. A March trial has been set in the wrongful death lawsuit.