Officer: Police knew homeless man suffered from schizophrenia before he was fatally shot

Defense attorney Luis Robles, left, talks to former Albuquerque detective Keith Sandy, center, and Albuquerque officer Dominique Perez, right, during a preliminary hearing in Albuquerque, N.M. on Monday, Aug. 17, 2015. A judge is listening to testimony and will decide if Sandy and Perez should stand trial for the fatal shooting of a homeless man in 2014. (AP Photo/Russell Contreras) (The Associated Press)

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – An Albuquerque SWAT sergeant says police were aware that a homeless man suffered from paranoid schizophrenia and had previously attacked an officer before he was fatally shot during a standoff.

Sgt. James Fox said Monday that officers who arrived to the scene knew basic information about James Boyd when police received reports about the 38-year-old camping illegally in the foothills of the Sandia Mountains.

Fox made his comments during a preliminary hearing for Officer Dominique Perez and former Detective Keith Sandy, who are facing murder charges for Boyd's death.

A judge is listening to testimony this week and will decide if the officers should stand trial.

Fox says police determined the standoff was a SWAT situation because the knife-wielding Boyd was on higher ground and put officers in danger.