A bizarre scene in Portales Monday led to Roosevelt County deputies opening fire and sending one person to the hospital.
Neighbors who were home say they saw the entire thing unfold from their front yards. They even captured cellphone video of deputies chasing the man, who was driving a front-end loader up and down the streets of Portales.
Officials say the man on the front-end loader was 48-year-old James Wallace McFarlin.
“He stopped right here, right in front of our driveway. Two cops pulled up to talk to him and they got out and he took off down to the fields and then the cops chased him,” Juan Espinoza said.
People who live off 18th Street and Kilgore in Portales say they woke up to a strange sight. They say their neighbor was driving recklessly up and down the streets in a front-end loader.
At one point, they say he drove into his own yard and flipped over a gray Jeep, then came around to the other side crushing it.
Related Story: Officer-Involved Shooting in Portales Under Investigation
McFarlin finally led police to an empty field. That’s where Roosevelt County deputies surrounded the loader.
“It was just crazy. I didn’t know what to think,” a witness said.
State Police are still investigating at this time. They have not released much information, including what prompted deputies to open fire or if the man in the loader had a weapon.
The man was taken to the hospital and is expected to be OK.
(Story from KRQE)
