On September 19, a confrontation between Roberto Gonzalez and San Antonio police officers resulted in his death, after he allegedly pointed a gun at officers during a bid to escape, reported by KSAT. Considering the seriousness of the incident, Robert Gonzalez, son of the deceased, has called for the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) to enhance their de-escalation policies.
The events leading to the shooting began with a traffic stop involving a vehicle that Gonzalez was a passenger in, police were monitoring him on an aggravated robbery warrant, and after officers arrested the driver, Roberto Gonzalez fled taking the vehicle before abandoning it and running into the woods, explained in an interview Robert described his father's actions were driven by the fear of incarceration, "From my understanding, the reasoning for his running was because he didn’t want to be put away in jail again," Robert told KSAT.
The situation escalated when Gonzalez, encountering officers at a fence with his gun in hand, SAPD Chief William McManus claimed he pointed the weapon at the officers, KSAT detailed this precipitated the officers' decision to open fire; body camera footage obtained corroborates the standoff at the fence and seemingly Gonzalez raising his gun in the direction of the police.
In the aftermath of the incident, now all seven officers involved have been assigned to administrative duty as part of the procedure – a multiplicity of inquiries are underway, among them are the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office, SAPD’s Shooting Team, and Internal Affairs, detailed a report from Biloxi News Events.
Robert Gonzalez has been vocal about his dissatisfaction with the encounter, stating, "What I want people to take away from this situation isn’t the fact that somebody was killed, but more so the incompetence of some of the law enforcement inside of our police department," according to an interview with KSAT, he seeks justice and a reformation of the decision-making processes and the engagement protocols within the SAPD.
