New Mexico Officer Fired After Van Shooting To Appeal

TAOS FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico State Police officer who fired shots at a minivan full of children during a chaotic October traffic stop in Taos plans to appeal his firing.

Attorneys for Elias Montoya say the veteran officer intends to file an appeal for wrongful termination.

State Police Chief Pete Kassetas fired Montoya on Friday, one day after a disciplinary hearing.

Video from a police cruiser's dashboard camera taken during the Oct. 28 traffic stop has drawn national attention. It showed Montoya shooting at the minivan as a Memphis, Tenn., woman drove away from a traffic stop after an officer knocked out her van's window with a baton.

The motorist, 39-year-old Oriana Farrell, had been stopped by another State Police officer for speeding. She fled twice after that officer tried to give her a ticket and then arrest her.

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