Sergeant: Tai Chan said “I had to do what I had to do” once in custody after shooting

On Thursday, a jury heard the tense moments officers responded to a shots fired call at a Las Cruces hotel.

Police identified the shooter as Tai Chan. The former Santa Fe deputy is accused of killing his colleague Jeremy Martin two years ago.

Chan had no expression as he listened to the audio recording, which came from Officer Todd Froats’ lapel pin microphone. Froats recalled entering the lobby where a bloody Martin was being removed in a table cloth. A group of officers then made their way to a stairwell, where Froats says they found Chan looking down at them from the seventh floor. He says Chan identified himself as a sheriff’s deputy. He told them he had a gun and that people were after him, according to Froats. In the recording, Froats demands Chan to come down.

“Identify yourself, give me a badge number!” Froats says in the recording.

“I’m from Santa Fe,” Chan replies.

Sergeant Mark Pacheco told jurors once in custody, Chan wanted officers to check on his parents. He said Chan even gave them their home address in Santa Fe.

“He did make a statement that ‘I had to do what I had to do'”, Pacheco said. “Other than that, he was concerned for the safety of his parents and again asked me several times if I would ensure that his family was safe.”

Chan’s defense attorneys argue he was acting in self defense.

If convicted, Chan faces life in prison.