This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/sep/01/video-texas-officers-shoot-man-hands-up
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Video shows Texas officers shooting man who appears to have his hands up | Video shows Texas officers shooting man who appears to have his hands up |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A Texas sheriff’s department is coming under pressure from civil rights groups following the release of the full version of a video that shows two officers shooting and killing a man who appears to have his hands up. | A Texas sheriff’s department is coming under pressure from civil rights groups following the release of the full version of a video that shows two officers shooting and killing a man who appears to have his hands up. |
| Gilbert Flores was killed on Friday after deputies Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez responded to a domestic disturbance call at 11.30am, according to the Bexar county sheriff Susan Pamerleau, who said they found a woman who had suffered a cut on her hand “and a baby … who appeared to have possibly been injured”. It is unclear when and under what circumstances the officers encountered Flores. | Gilbert Flores was killed on Friday after deputies Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez responded to a domestic disturbance call at 11.30am, according to the Bexar county sheriff Susan Pamerleau, who said they found a woman who had suffered a cut on her hand “and a baby … who appeared to have possibly been injured”. It is unclear when and under what circumstances the officers encountered Flores. |
| In a press conference on Friday, Pamerleau said the two deputies “tried to use non-lethal weapons” to detain Flores, and that following a lengthy confrontation both deputies “fired shots, causing the man’s death”. | In a press conference on Friday, Pamerleau said the two deputies “tried to use non-lethal weapons” to detain Flores, and that following a lengthy confrontation both deputies “fired shots, causing the man’s death”. |
| Video footage was provided to local news network KSAT by a student, Michael Thomas, who witnessed the shooting. In the video, which was first released in redacted form on Friday and then in full on Monday, there is no visible attempt by the deputies to use non-lethal force, and it appears that Flores has his hands in the air when he is shot, although one arm is partially obscured by a pole. | |
| “I was watching and wondering what was going on, but I couldn’t figure it out,” Thomas told KSAT. “With the things going on in the world, like different type of shootings with cops and different things like that, so I was like, ‘Well, maybe I can catch something with my camera.’ | |
| “He kind of just put his hands in the air. After he put his hands in the air, they shot him.” | “He kind of just put his hands in the air. After he put his hands in the air, they shot him.” |
| Vasquez and Sanchez have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the sheriff’s office, which is set to report its findings to the district attorney’s office on Friday. | Vasquez and Sanchez have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation by the sheriff’s office, which is set to report its findings to the district attorney’s office on Friday. |
| District attorney Nico LaHood said his office would assess next steps based on whether the officers had a “reasonable assessment of imminent danger”. | District attorney Nico LaHood said his office would assess next steps based on whether the officers had a “reasonable assessment of imminent danger”. |
| LaHood also said that Thomas’s video was part of the evidence his department was aware of, but said that there was another video not yet released to the public that “gives a better angle” on the shooting. | LaHood also said that Thomas’s video was part of the evidence his department was aware of, but said that there was another video not yet released to the public that “gives a better angle” on the shooting. |
| Civil liberties groups have raised concerns, however, that the officers’ use of force was disproportionate to the circumstances. | Civil liberties groups have raised concerns, however, that the officers’ use of force was disproportionate to the circumstances. |
| “Like other events that that we’ve seen across the country involving interactions with law enforcement, this one points to a troubling trend of overzealous and abusive policing,” Terri Burke, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas said in a statement. | “Like other events that that we’ve seen across the country involving interactions with law enforcement, this one points to a troubling trend of overzealous and abusive policing,” Terri Burke, the executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) of Texas said in a statement. |
| Burke added that the ACLU was calling on the sheriff’s department and the district attorney’s office to conduct a transparent investigation and “hold any wrongdoers accountable”. | Burke added that the ACLU was calling on the sheriff’s department and the district attorney’s office to conduct a transparent investigation and “hold any wrongdoers accountable”. |