The San Antonio Police Department has released chilling bodycam footage from a January shootout involving SWAT officers and a former Bexar County Sheriff's Office deputy. The gunfight erupted in the early hours of the morning and resulted in the suspect, identified as 43-year-old Jose Vazquez, being shot and injured.
Gripped by the tension of gunfire, residents of an apartment complex on Timbercreek Drive made frantic 911 calls, reporting that the suspect was firing at walls, making bullets rain into their homes. Responding to the threat, patrol units arrived on the scene, and amidst the chaos, the SWAT team was called for reinforcement. In the footage, as obtained by KENS5, an officer reports hearing Vazquez "racking a gun" before a hail of bullets forces police to seek cover.
The shooting came to a halt when SWAT Officer Jesse Noriega fired at Vazquez from an elevated position within an armored vehicle, grazing his head. As luck would have it, Noriega's bodycam was not recording at the time due to "inadvertent contact" with the vehicle, as per KSAT. However, the audio captured by another officer's camera documents the moment when Noriega confirms his actions, stating, "That was me, that was me. He had a gun pointed at us here. He has a helmet."
Following the gun battle, Vazquez was hospitalized in stable condition and was outfitted with ballistic gear, though not visible in the released footage. Later found in his apartment, multiple weapons revealed the potential for further destruction, SAPD disclosed. Charged with deadly conduct with a firearm and aggravated assault against a public servant, Vazquez's bonds were set at $300,000.
Jose Vazquez's troubled past with law enforcement came to the fore, as BCSO confirmed he served as a detention officer from 2007 until 2011. His career ended in dishonor following an arrest for official oppression. In a stinging twist of fate, Officer Noriega, with 23 years of service, now finds himself placed on administrative duty as the incident continues under investigation. "This is our current understanding of the situation and it could change as investigators gather more information," Sgt. Washington Moscoso said in a narrated version of the video posted to SAPD's YouTube channel.
