Category: Body Cameras|Charges Against Police|Police Shooting

On Tuesday night, May 22, 2018, 49-year-old Martin Sandejo was allegedly shot and killed by a police officer with the Mathis, Texas, Police Department. Few details have been released. The Mathis police confirmed that they were investigating a burglary report at the Sendejo’s home Tuesday night. Family members said the deceased was mentally ill and had a knife. They allege that Sendejo was shot by police after he refused to put the knife down. The Texas Rangers are investigating the alleged officer-involved shooting.

Sandejo was identified by the Nueces County Medical Examiner’s Office. An investigator with the medical examiner’s office said Sandejo suffered trauma to the abdomen.

Confirmation that the alleged police-involved shooting occurred on Tuesday night was provided by spokesperson for the Texas Department of Public Safety Sgt. Nathan Brandley. He also said the Texas Rangers were alerted about the incident by Mathis police. Officials with the police department declined to comment or provide any details of the shooting.

There was no mention as to whether the officers involved in the alleged incident were wearing body cameras or whether any video cameras police were wearing had been activated.

It is standard procedure for Texas Rangers to investigate all police-involved shootings. It is sometimes determined that an officer acted outside police department policies, and the officer is charged with a crime. For example, in December 2017, a police officer with the Mesquite, Texas, Police Department was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant in connection with an alleged police-involved shooting. The officer is facing a range of possible punishments that includes 5 years to life in prison, if found guilty.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor

On Tuesday, May 1, 2018, in League City, Texas, 49-year-old Roger Fortner was allegedly shot and killed in his residence on Morningside Drive by a police officer with the League City Police Department (LCPD). Another officer fired a blunt impact projectile at Fortner at virtually the same moment. Officers with the department’s Combined Agency Response Team had entered the home at about 5 a.m. Fortner used a samurai-style sword to threaten the officers and was instructed to put down the weapon. Officers say Fortner failed to put the sword down, and that is when one officer fired a rifle and the other fired the impact projectile. Fortner was pronounced dead at the scene.

Seversl people were allegedly present in the home during the alleged police-involved shooting. Neither the officers nor anyone else in the home were injured at the time of the alleged shooting of Fortner. One of the residents was arrested on a drug charge.

Both of the officers who engaged weapons at the scene have been placed on administrative leave.

There was no mention of whether the police officers were wearing body cameras and, if so, whether they were on at the time of the alleged police shooting. The benefit of such information is that it helps investigators determine whether officers were following proper departmental procedures when a weapon was used on an individual.

Although rare in comparison to the number of police shootings that occur, there have been times when police officers were charged with a crime, after an investigation suggests that excessive force was used and actions were not in keeping with acceptable behavior. For instance, on May 5, 2017, a former police officer with the Balch Springs Police Department in Balch Springs, Texas, was arrested and charged with the murder of 15-year-old Jordan Edwards for actions he took while on duty.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor

On Friday, February 16, 2018, in Killeen, Texas, at about 6:23 pm, Killeen police officers were called to assist at the scene of a crash on Cross Timber Drive. An ambulance had been involved in a collision with another vehicle. The ambulance allegedly slammed into a small sports car, which was shoved into a curb. When police officers arrived, a male subject at the scene exited the car and charged toward the police officers. According to spokesperson Ofelia Miramontez of the Killeen Police Department, an officer had no choice but to discharge their weapon. The man who was shot was taken to Baylor Scott & White Hospital by medical helicopter, and his condition has not been disclosed.

The officer involved in the shooting will remain on administrative leave while an investigation is conducted by the Texas Rangers, which is standard procedure.

Police officers are often cleared of any wrongdoing after a shooting, including after fatal police-involved shootings. But there are times when the investigation into a particular shooting leads to an officer being arrested on criminal charges.

In Mesquite, Texas, for example, an officer with the Mesquite Police Department allegedly shot a 31-year-old man on November 8, 2017. There was body camera footage that has not been released of the incident in which an officer reportedly shot the 31-year-old within 10 seconds of being at the scene. The man who was shot had been trying to stop the alarm on his vehicle, which was malfunctioning. After the first shot was fired, the officer allegedly attempted to conduct a cavity search of the wounded man. Then the officer allegedly shot the man again, in the back. Ultimately, the officer was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon by a public servant. If found guilty, the officer faces a possible sentence of between 5 years and life in prison, along with a fine of as much as $100,000.

As with every post on this website, we are only providing information in this post and do not make any allegation or assertion that anyone acted inappropriately or engaged in misconduct.

–Guest Contributor