El Paso, Texas Releases Video of Cop Fatally Shooting Handcuffed PrisonerEl Paso, Texas Releases Video of Cop Fatally Shooting Handcuffed Prisoner
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El Paso, Tx., Police Officer Jose Flores shot and killed a handcuffed prisoner, Daniel Saenz, on March 8, 2013.
However, a grand jury refused to charge Officer Flores with any crime.
A security camera video of the shooting was released yesterday by the city of El Paso per the order of the Texas Attorney General in response to an open-records request by the El Paso Times.
Saenz was reportedly acting strangely at a local grocery store, so El Paso police took him into custody, but the local jail refused him because Saenz "struck his own head into the doorway causing himself injury," according to the police report.
Police transported him to a mental health center where he allegedly assaulted a police officer and center employees.
That's when Officer Flores shot the handcuffed Saenz in the shoulder at point blank range, notes Mediaite.com.
Before the shooting, Saenz was dragged outside the mental facility by Officer Flores and a prisoner transport guard. Saenz struggled with the men, fell to the ground and tried to get up with the two men on top of him.
After Saenz pushed off the prisoner transport guard, Officer Flores drew his handgun and fired a bullet into Saenz's shoulder, which passed into his chest.
Officer Flores then got on top of Saenz, who was face down, bleeding on the ground, but still struggling. Officer Flores eventually flipped Seanz over and tried to do CPR until paramedics arrive. Saenz was taken to a hospital where he died.
The fatal shooting was investigated by El Paso Police Department’s Shooting Review Team and the Texas Rangers, which found it was justified because Saenz had bodybuilder strength, did not back down from taser shocks and could move his handcuffs to the front of his body.
An autopsy found that Saenz tested positive for dimethylamylamine, a chemical found in bath salts, which can cause delusion, panic attacks and paranoia.
The El Paso city attorney did not want the video released because it would violate the privacy of the dead man, might bring about a lawsuit by Saenz's family (which they can legally file under law) and wound endanger Officer Flores' life, even though he was cleared of any wrongdoing.
Sources: El Paso Times and Mediaite.com
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