The recent release of body camera footage from a fatal shooting by a Houston Police Department officer has sparked controversy and calls for accountability. Officer Jillian McGowan shot and killed Edmundo Meza, a 42-year-old man, following a struggle outside a north Houston gas station on August 7. The encounter stemmed from a loitering check, escalating when officers found a warrant for Meza's arrest and subsequently discovered he had a gun in his waistband, the Houston Chronicle reported.

Maribel Medrano, Meza's sister, viewed the body and dashcam video prior to its public release and claims that despite Meza telling officers, 'shoot me,' he was not reaching for the weapon. "Just because he says, 'Shoot me,' it doesn't mean you go and shoot him. Regardless of what he says, doesn't mean you go and do it," Medrano told ABC13. She argues that Meza's final words should not have been taken as a directive to use lethal force.

Experts have questioned the use of deadly force in the incident. Jeffrey Noble, a veteran in law enforcement and expert witness on police use of force, argued the situation did not appear to justify such an extreme response. "Absent an immediate threat, deadly force is not justified," Noble said. He noted concerns about the officers' control over Meza at the time of the shooting and the placement of McGowan's gun close to Meza's side, suggesting the risk of a negligent discharge, as the Houston Chronicle detailed.

In a reaction to a loitering call, McGowan and another officer approached Meza and another man at around 9:40 p.m. on the night of the encounter. This wasn't the first time McGowan was involved in a controversial shooting; she had previously been cleared of criminal liability in the 2012 deadly shooting of Rufino Lara, who turned out to be unarmed and not the robbery suspect they were seeking, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Medrano has called for McGowan to be fired and to face criminal charges, reflecting on the heavy toll of police violence on her family, given this marks the second loss of a brother in such a manner, ABC13 reported.

McGowan remains on administrative leave while an internal inquiry continues, and the Houston District Attorney's office is also investigating the shooting.