Video shows Texas police officers shoot dead man with his hands up



SHOCKING video obtained by a Texas TV station shows a man, with his hands up, being shot dead by police officers. The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office said Gilbert Flores, 41, died shortly after the Friday shooting Friday, adding that he resisted arrest and nonlethal weapons failed to bring him under control.

Officers Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez were responding to a domestic disturbance and found a woman with a cut on her head and a baby who appeared injured, according to the statement.

The officers encountered Flores, who they say was armed, and attempted to arrest him, the sheriff’s department said. The statement didn’t say what type of weapon Flores had.

After Flores resisted, the officers used nonlethal weapons in an attempt to detain him, but when “those efforts failed,” they shot him, according to the statement.

The video, taken by a bystander and obtained by KSAT-TV in San Antonio, appears to show Flores standing still with his arms raised just before two shots are heard. Flores drops to the ground.

The video doesn’t include audio of officers’ commands or Flores’ response, and the scene is partially obscured by police vehicles and passing cars.

Moments later, deputies drag and flip Flores onto his stomach. About a minute and a half later, an ambulance arrives.

The officers, who had both been with the sheriff’s office for more than 10 years, have been placed on standard paid administrative leave. The sheriff’s department is investigating and has said the officers were not wearing body cameras.

“Certainly what’s in the video is a cause for concern, but it’s important to let the investigation go through its course so that we can assure a thorough and complete review of all that occurred,” Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said at a news conference.

But her office later criticised the release of the video as “unethical” and “sensational.”

“These deputies have not been charged with a crime and a family lost their loved one,” the office wrote in a Facebook post on Monday.

The department didn’t respond to messages seeking further comment on the video.

A woman at the residence where the shooting took place declined a reporter’s questions on Monday, referring him to San Antonio lawyer Thomas J Henry, who did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

Original report here


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