Harper v. the Albuquerque Police Department, U.S. District Court for NM, cause no. CIV 96-1048(1996).

The APD SWAT team was called to respond to a family's call for help with their suicidal loved one, who had walked into a wilderness area at night. After 2 hours in the cold, Larry Harper, decided not to commit suicide. He was walking back to his truck in the dark, when he was "lit up" by the SWAT team, then chased through the darkness by 9 black-clad and camouflaged officers and 2 police dogs. Mr. Harper was shot to death while hiding behind a tree and shouting that he had done nothing wrong. In addition to a monetary settlement, APD agreed to make 10 substantive changes in their policies and procedures, including reorganization of the SWAT team, tape-recording encounters with suicidal citizens, fingerprinting all weapons at the scene, and providing information and counseling to the families of citizens who are shot by the police.

Past successes cannot be an assurance of future success because each case must be decided on its own merits.