Trial continues against former APD officer accused of dragging disabled man out of Target

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (KRQE) — The trial against a former Albuquerque Police Department (APD) officer accused of dragging a disabled man out of Target on Coors continued Thursday.

They didn’t think police would take it that far—that’s what one former employee from Target told the jury Wednesday in the continuing trial against Kenneth Skeens, the former APD officer accused of dragging a disabled man out of a Target on the westside of Albuquerque in the summer of 2022.

Target employees took the stand Wednesday describing for the jury the event as it unfolded nearly two years ago.

“They drag him, they start to try to take him out of the store and I think he, they end up like dragging him basically out of the store,” said Ty Hunt, former Target asset protection specialist, “I didn’t expect that honestly and it threw me off because I didn’t know that was how it was going to go.”

Hunt was on duty when the incident took place, and described feeling pressure from Skeens to allow police to remove Matthew McManus from the store. The state played surveillance video for the jury showing police walking up to McManus at the self checkout and then pulling him out of the Target.

Target employees did not call APD that day; rather, they were actively patrolling the area and dealing with a separate incident outside when they went inside the Target and noticed McManus. Witnesses report McManus had been trying to buy a $149.99 dollar bicycle at the self checkout station with cash for about 20 minutes.

Hunt said he told Skeens he could make contact with McManus after speaking with his superior, Sean Barrett, but never told him he could remove him. Barrett, a team leader at that Target, pointed out for the jury on a still photo of Skeens’ lapel camera that it appeared McManus did have enough cash to buy the bike.

“Did you ever say, ‘you’re free to criminally trespass him’?” asked John Duran, prosecuting attorney for the state. “No I did not,” Hunt responded.

“You never, even when they got past the point of sale, say ‘woah woah woah wait, I don’t know if you misunderstood me,’ never did that?” asked John D’Amato, defense attorney for Skeens. “No,” Hunt responded.

The defense focused on the fact Hunt did not tell police to stop.

Kenneth Skeens is being accused of using excessive force against Matthew McManus while he was at the self checkout trying to buy a bike. The state is arguing Skeens pulled McManus out of that Target without lawful authority, and made false claims about the situation in his reports. The defense told the jury that the Target has had a history of bike thefts.

Skeens is facing four charges, including false imprisonment and battery.

Employees who witnessed the event took the stand Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday.

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