KSAT
Two Bexar County, Texas, sheriff’s deputies have been placed on administrative leave after a video showed them shooting a man who was apparently standing still with his hands up outdoors. Officers Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez responded to a domestic-violence call and said they found a woman holding a baby and bleeding from her head. The officers said Gilbert Flores, shirtless with a knife, had attacked the woman. For the next 20 minutes, police said the officers tried to subdue Flores with both a Taser and shield.
In video obtained by KSAT news, Flores appears to stand perfectly still with his apparently empty hands up before one of the officers shot him.
Bexar County District Attorney Nico Lahood said Tuesday a second video was made by another witness.
"The videos are troubling to me," Lahood said, urging people to react responsibly. “There’s actually another video with a better view that is very close."
Flores had three prior brushes with the law, including an aggravated robbery charge in 2003, criminal trespassing and aggravated assault charges in 1999, and a marijuana citation from 1995, according to CNN.
“Certainly, what’s in the video is a cause for concern,” Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said on Friday night before the video surfaced. “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 — of the evidence and the actions of the officers.”
The Sheriff’s office tweeted Monday that local news station KSAT showing the full video “sparked threats to our deputies,” and invited people to call the station and complain.