ALBUQUERQUE, NM – An Albuquerque police officer is recovering after another APD officer accidentally shot him.

The incident occurred last month while they were dealing with a domestic disturbance report in the southeast part of the city.

It all started with Central and Elizabeth’s 911 call from a home in southeast Albuquerque. APD officers Jeff Schwarzel, Reanna Torres and Vanessa Zuniga responded to a call for help in mid-October. That’s where they met 41-year-old Matthew Sanchez.

Police said Sanchez emerged from the trailer with a gun and pointed it at officers. At that moment, all three of them shot at him. Sanchez was killed, but Schwarzel was also caught in the middle of the shooting.

Department leaders reviewed that collar video with us on Tuesday. They say Torres wasn’t looking at Sanchez when he fired his gun.

Schwarzel was struck in the right bicep and hand. He’s getting better.

APD Chief Harold Medina said officers are trained to make sure they have a clear goal, but it’s not always a perfect scenario.

“When you look at this video, it looks like at one point an elbow was out and that was almost in the area where the officer was struck. So it could have been as simple as they didn’t even see an elbow, but they saw the rest of the body,” Medina said.

Medina also noted that he believes in second chances. If the incident is determined to be a mistake and not misconduct, he would welcome the officer back to the force.

“I hope everyone at the Albuquerque Police Department remembers that we must always help people improve and that everyone must remember that they are human at some point,” Medina said.

Police said Sanchez never fired his gun and the gun was not loaded at the time. But they say he fired several shots into the air down the block before police arrived.

Officers Torres and Zuniga have not yet returned to duty while the investigation continues.