Three San Antonio police officers have been charged with murder in the fatal shooting of a woman who was experiencing what the city’s police chief said was a “mental health crisis.”
Sgt. Alfred Flores and officers Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos were suspended without pay and later arrested on warrants for murder in the shooting death of Melissa Perez, 46, when she refused police commands to leave her apartment, he said Police Chief William McManus on Friday.
“The officers’ actions were not consistent with SAPD policy and training,” McManus said during a news conference Friday night.
“They put themselves in a situation where they used lethal force that was unreasonable given all the circumstances as we understand them now,” McManus said.
The San Antonio Police Department released a YouTube video detailing Friday’s incident.
According to McManus, one of the three accused officers opened fire after Perez first threw a glass chandelier at the officers and then gave them a hammer. All three officers fired when Perez came at them again with the hammer, striking her at least twice, according to McManus.
Perez was suspected of cutting the wires to a fire alarm, a felony, at the apartment complex and was talking to firefighters about 12:30 a.m. Friday when an officer approached and tried to she walked toward a patrol car, McManus said.
Perez was speaking with a fire department official outside the complex when an unidentified officer arrived and is heard on body camera video calling out, “Hey, lady, come here,” with Perez refusing and leaving
“It looked like Miss Perez was having a mental health crisis,” McManus said without further explanation, then ran to her apartment.
The video then shows an officer in the yard of Perez’s apartment removing a window screen as Perez yells “stop him” and “you don’t have a warrant.”
An unidentified officer yells “they’re going to shoot you,” to which Perez replies “shoot me, you don’t have an order.”
Later the sound of broken glass is heard followed by two gunshots.
Perez was pronounced dead at the scene by EMS.
McManus did not ask any questions, citing ongoing investigations into the shooting.
Both the SAPD shooting team and the Internal Affairs Unit are conducting separate investigations, and their findings will be forwarded to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for an independent review, according to SAPD.
Other officers were also at the scene, but none are expected to be charged, although all will be investigated for their actions, McManus said.
“This incident will continue to be thoroughly investigated, as will all officer-involved shootings,” McManus said as he offered his condolences to Perez’s family.
Flores has been in the SAPD for 14 years, while Alejandro and Villalobos have been for five and two years, respectively. according to CBS affiliate KENS 5. All three were being held on $100,000 bonds. Saturday morning, KENS 5 reported that all three had been released from jail.
