CNN —
Three San Antonio cops had been charged with homicide on Friday, lower than 24 hours after they fatally shot a girl throughout a police name, their chief introduced.
Officer Eleazar Alejandro, 28; Sgt. Alfred Flores, 45; and Officer Nathaniel Villalobos, 27, are suspended from the power with out pay because the investigation continues. All had been launched on $100,000 bond, Bexar County jail data present, and none has commented to CNN.
“The taking pictures officers’ actions weren’t in step with SAPD insurance policies and coaching, and so they positioned themselves in a state of affairs the place they used lethal power which was not affordable given all of the circumstances as we now perceive them,” Chief William McManus stated in a information convention Friday evening.
Police had been responding to a name {that a} lady later recognized as Melissa Ann Perez, 46, was reducing wires to a hearth alarm system at her house complicated, McManus stated.
“It appeared that Ms. Perez was having a psychological well being disaster,” stated the chief.
The reserving pictures present (from left) Sgt. Alfred Flores, Officer Eleazar Alejandro and Officer Nathaniel Villalobos. Bexar County Sheriff’s Workplace
After initially talking with officers exterior, Perez went again inside her house and locked the door, based on McManus.
Officers continued to speak to Perez by way of a rear patio window, urging her to come back out, edited and blurred physique digicam video launched by the police division exhibits.
“You ain’t acquired no warrant!” she says twice, based on the physique digicam video.
One officer tried to open the window, and McManus stated Perez threw a glass candleholder at him, McManus stated. She later swung a hammer at an officer however hit the window as a substitute, breaking it, police stated.
In keeping with McManus, one officer opened fireplace, however Perez was not hit and may very well be heard nonetheless talking on the physique digicam video.
However seconds later, Perez “superior towards the window once more whereas nonetheless holding the hammer, and all three officers opened fireplace,” McManus stated.
Greater than a dozen pictures are heard on the physique digicam video. Perez was struck not less than twice, McManus stated. Officers “tried life-saving measures,” the arrest warrant stated, however Perez died on the scene.
Though she was allegedly approaching the officers with a hammer once they opened fireplace, the arrest warrant stated Perez “didn’t pose an imminent menace of great bodily harm or loss of life when she was shot as a result of the defendants had a wall, a window blocked by a tv, and a locked door between them.”
CNN has requested the unedited physique digicam movies within the case.
Perez’s youngsters, who vary in age from 9 to 24 years outdated, are have been struck with “incomprehensible grief” following their moms’ loss of life, the household’s lawyer, Dan Packard, instructed CNN Monday.
“There’s no phrases to clarify to a 9-year-old how three cops all thought it was okay to gun this lady down in unison whereas she was in her personal home behind a wall,” Packard stated.
The San Antonio Police Officers’ Affiliation expressed its condolences for Perez’s household in an announcement Monday. Citing the energetic investigation, the affiliation stated it “can not converse to the matter additional till the investigation is full and judicial course of is underway.”
“Following the tragic incident, Chief McManus adopted all mandatory protocols. All three officers have been suspended indefinitely,” the police affiliation stated.
The swiftness of the fees in opposition to the officers displays a development as communities reckon with police accountability within the wake of the loss of life of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
5 officers in Memphis, Tennessee, had been rapidly charged within the loss of life of Tyre Nichols, in distinction to earlier circumstances, such because the police taking pictures of Jacob Blake, in Kenosha, Wisconsin, during which officers determined to not cost the officer 5 months later.
Officer use of power additionally has been below scrutiny nationwide, particularly in opposition to individuals dealing with psychological well being crises. The Metropolis of Rochester, New York, reached a settlement with the household of Daniel Prude, who died following an encounter with police. In Virginia, Irvo Otieno died after being pinned to the ground by safety officers at a state psychological well being facility. And in California, Miles Corridor was shot by police throughout what his household referred to as a psychological well being episode.
Melissa Ann Perez Courtesy Packard Legislation Agency
Household to file lawsuit
Perez’ household is “heartbroken,” it stated, and plans to file a lawsuit in opposition to town, based on experiences and data from household lawyer, Dan Packard.
“We’re not speaking a couple of rogue officer who simply misplaced his thoughts or acquired mad,” Packard stated in an on-camera interview with CNN affiliate KENS 5. “We’re speaking about three officers who thought it was OK to gun this lady down in her personal home.”
“We consider that there are systemic issues within the division that allowed this to occur,” Packard added.
CNN has reached out to Packard for a duplicate of the swimsuit, as soon as it’s filed.
Packard instructed CNN Perez had schizophreniaand could have had prior interactions with police. The lawyer stated he’s unsure how simply accessible that data would have been to the officers who responded to her residence final week.
“I feel that’s an essential part that (Perez’s household) will not be offended people who find themselves overly suspicious of the police, however this has shattered their belief within the police power and within the system,” Packard stated.
Perez’s household has requested prayers as they grapple along with her sudden loss of life.
“They have no idea how these youngsters are going to manage and cope with this and they also take it in the future at a time,” the lawyer stated. “We’re getting them the skilled assist that they want. However they’re asking on your prayers.”
The police division will conduct an inner overview and switch it over to prosecutors as soon as it’s accomplished. Courtroom data point out their preliminary listening to is ready for July 25.
CNN left messages with Alejandro and Villalobos requesting remark Saturday. CNN was unable to seek out contact data for Flores.
