San Antonio police officer thought cellphone was gun before fatally shooting man
On Friday, San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus pledged an investigation into the shooting of an unarmed black suspect on Thursday by an 11-year veteran of the force.
On Friday, San Antonio Police Department Chief William McManus pledged an investigation into the shooting of an unarmed black suspect on Thursday by an 11-year veteran of the force.
Officer John Lee was called to the scene Thursday by a plainclothes detective from SAPD’s Repeat Offender Program, who spotted Atronie Scott, who was wanted for two felony warrants for gun and drug possession.
“(The detective saw) the wanted individual, who was in the parking lot, and requested for him to help stop the individual because ROP detectives are not in uniform, and they wanted a uniformed officer to conduct the stop,” McManus said.
McManus said that both Lee and Scott got out of their vehicles at about the same time, with Lee shouting at Scout to “let me see your hands” before almost immediately firing his weapon.
“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.”
Lee’s dashcam did not record the incident, McManus said, because of the way the car was parked, and body cams had not yet been distributed to their district. However, Lee has maintained that he feared for his life because Scott had a dark object in his hand, which turned out to be a cell phone.
“Officer Lee stated that he feared for his life when he discharged a single round,” the chief said.
