Was this guy the midnight-shift copper miner?
Yes. That is the incident.
He worked at a mine, yes. A needless killing by law enforcement who decided to use SWAT for the purpose of executing a search warrant at his home to procure evidence of a crime. The victim had the audacity to arm himself after being rudely awakened by the mob surrounding his home and forcing their way into it.
I think that he was, anyway he was working for a living and he and his wife were minding their own business. And for one reason or another, the police decided that a Mexican could not be living in a nice home like hey had without doing something illegal. So the SWAT team paid them a visit early one morning add he and his wife thought they were being hit by home invaders. He had his wife hide and got his rifle and went behind the couch. The rest is history, they not only shot him full of holes, they also murdered his character.