Police in Austin, Texas, shot and killed a naked black youth on February 8, less than one week after an officer in San Antonio shot and killed a black man for holding a cell phone in his hand. According to the Austin Statesman, police are saying its “too early to tell” if the 18-year-old youth—who was naked, by the way—was armed when he was shot in the northeast section of the city.
Before the man was shot, police responded to a call of a suspicious man acting aggressively in the area of the 12000 block of Natures Bend in Northeast Austin. Police were dispatched at 9:57 a.m. and an officer found a naked man in the street, [Austin Police Chief of Staff Brian] Manley said.
Neither the officer who fired his weapon nor the man were immediately identified. However, Manley said the officer has been with Austin Police Department for more than 10 years and was placed on administrative leave, as is standard procedure for officers involved in fatal use of force.
Dashboard camera footage caught a portion of the incident, but the shooting occurred out of frame, Manley said. Audio from that footage recorded the officer ordering the victim to stop repeatedly after he charged at the officer, Manley said.
Austin-Travis County EMS responded to the shooting and transported the victim to St. David’s Round Rock Medical Center. There, the victim died, Manley said.
Monday’s shooting of the naked teenager comes after a San Antonio-based tabloid publisher made—and then withdrew—a threat to publish the names and addresses of police officers. The threat was in response to the shooting death of Antronie Scott on February 4.
Officials said the officer pulled up to the man, identified as 36-year-old Antronie Scott, as he was exiting his vehicle at an apartment complex in the 10300 block of Sahara Street around 6:40 p.m.
The officer quickly approached and told Scott to “let me see your hands,” then almost immediately fired his service weapon, according to McManus.
“It was in the blink of an eye,” McManus said. “I listened to the audio, I watched the tape, and it happened very, very quickly.”
McManus said the officer, identified as John Lee, told investigators that Scott spun around quickly and that, believing Scott was holding a gun, feared for his life.
Lee had been called to the scene by a detective with SAPD’s Repeat Offender Program who was tracking Scott because he was wanted on two felony warrants for gun and drug possession.
Stephanie Zarriello had threatened to publish the names of cops as a kind of public service for the community at a Saturday press conference:
“Just as the names and addresses of sex offenders are publicized in order to protect the public from their wicked behavior, we feel that our community has the right to the exact same level of protection,” Zarriello said.
The next day Zarriello had a change of heart.
Zarriello stood down Sunday, accusing the media of misinterpreting her. She told News4SanAntonio she never planned to publish cops’ names and only said she would to “make an officer think twice before shooting so fast and killing an unarmed person.”
Police officers absolutely need to think twice before shooting and killing unarmed persons. What’s seemingly so hard to do is figure out the best way to have them do that. Nice try, Zarriello.