An incident that occurred on August 22, 2019, left a homeless man dead after he attempted to retrieve what appeared to be a firearm from his waistband.

During this incident, Albuquerque Police Officers responded to a bus stop near Copper and Eubank, after receiving a 911 call that a man had pointed a firearm at a bystander. Only a short while later, a second 911 call was received regarding an identical incident, where the suspect again pointed a firearm at a bystander.

Upon arriving at the scene, APD officers approached the reported suspect in a tactical offensive position. As the officers swung out into the busy road, they immediately gave commands toward the suspect to keep his hands in the air. In response, the suspect made comments such as "f*** you" and "I'll do what I want". Continuing their commands, APD officers warned the suspect, if he reached for his waistband they will utilize lethal force against him.

After a short dispute, the male suspect propped himself up onto the bus stop bench and reached for the weapon. An officer fired a non-lethal 40 mm launcher at the suspect, striking him in the left knee. However, at that time, three additional officers began firing their service rifles, fatally wounding the suspect. The suspect had been struck fifteen times by officer gunfire.

During police investigation, the man was later identified as 57-year-old Roger Schafer. Upon the arrival of Albuquerque Fire Rescue, Schafer was pronounced deceased at the scene. The weapon Schafer wielded was also identified as a Daisy semi-automatic Power Line 415 CO2 BB-gun. As a result, no officers received disciplinary actions regarding this incident.