The release of body-cam footage and 911 calls by the San Antonio Police Department (SAPD) has provided new information on the officer-involved shooting that took place last month on August 29, leading to the death of 41-year-old Jaime Gonzalez in the 800 block of Cherry Street. According to KSAT, two 911 calls reported a man with a shotgun, with one caller mentioning a threat near a skate park followed by Gonzalez entering his home and emerging with what appeared to be a shotgun, and another reported seeing a man firing a rifle into the air.
Upon officers arriving at the scene, they encountered Gonzalez, who reportedly had been involved in a confrontation with two drivers earlier that day and had fired several shots in the air, as indicated in the footage and audio, although SAPD clarified that there was no clear view of the victim from the body-worn cameras of the five officers due to their tactical positions. Fox San Antonio reported that after establishing a perimeter officers can be heard in the body-cam footage directing Gonzalez to "drop the gun" multiple times, but after opening a side door, he aimed the shotgun at officers, leading to the five officers discharging their weapons, the incident ended with heavy smoke emanating from the gunfire.
The officers involved in the shooting have been identified and have tenures ranging from 5 to 7 years with SAPD: Officer Tyler Brown, Officer Marco Trevino, Officer Matthew Olivares, Officer Joseph Orozco, and Officer Steven Flores are now placed on administrative duty, with SAPD's Shooting Team and the internal affairs team conducting separate but concurrent investigations into the incident.
In the aftermath, Gonzalez was pronounced dead at the scene by heavy gunfire which the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office ruled his death a homicide with multiple gunshot wounds, yet it was clarified by SAPD Chief McManus that Gonzalez did not fire shots directly at the officers, an important distinction amid the ongoing separate shooting investigations that will later be reviewed by the Bexar County District Attorney's Office; the incident marks the tenth officer-involved shooting this year for SAPD.
