APD Chief Manley: No firearm found during search of officer-involved shooting victim's car
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin police chief Brian Manley gave an update Monday on an officer-involved shooting in April that left a man dead in Southeast Austin.
Manley stated in the press conference Monday that officers and specially-trained K-9 units did not find a firearm in or near the vehicle while executing a search warrant.
Additionally, Manley said that he intends to release body camera and in-car camera footage from the shooting, but cannot at this time due to witnesses still needing to be interviewed and a court motion filed to restrict APD's ability to release the videos.
Manley says 45 interviews of witness officers, involved officers, civilians, and first responders have been conducted during the active and ongoing investigation into the shooting.
RELATED: Austin police: Man dead after Southeast Austin officer-involved shooting
In April, 42-year-old Michael Ramos was shot and killed in the shooting in a parking lot at the Rosemont at Oak Valley apartments. A cell phone video shared with FOX 7 Austin shows Ramos with his hands up, showing his waist. He is standing on the drivers-side of a car, telling police he is unarmed.
RELATED: Protesters voice concerns about APD following officer-involved shooting
Police yell commands at Ramos, before Ramos is shot once with a bean bag. Austin Police Chief Brian Manley says the less-lethal weapon was fired by rookie Austin Police Officer Mitchell Pieper.
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Ramos then gets into a car and attempts to drive away when another officer, Christopher Taylor shoots him three times with a rifle. Manley confirmed that Taylor was one of two officers who fired a lethal weapon, killing a man experiencing a mental health crisis in downtown Austin in July 2019.
RELATED: Austin police identify man killed in officer-involved shooting in Southeast Austin
Manley said previously that officers were initially dispatched to the complex Friday night because a 9-1-1 caller stated they saw people doing drugs in a car, and that a man had a gun Manley later confirmed that officers had searched the car Ramos was killed in, but would not confirm at the time if the department did, or did not find a gun. He confirmed Monday that officers did not, in fact, find a gun in or around the car.
Protestors voice concerns about APD following officer involved shooting
The protestors chanted “How do you spell murderers? APD! How do you spell racists APD!” as police executed a search warrant related to Friday's shooting across the street in a parking lot where the shooting occurred.
The shooting prompted protesters to chant “How do you spell murderers? APD! How do you spell racists APD!” as police executed a search warrant related to the shooting across the street in a parking lot where the shooting occurred.
More than twenty Central Texas activist groups also called on high-ranking Austin officials, including the police chief, to resign after the shooting. The Austin Justice Coalition, the group spearheading the effort to remove Austin’s Assistant City Manager Rey Arrellano, Chief Brian Manley and his Chief of Staff Troy Gay, sent a letter, co-signed by other activists and activist groups, to Mayor Steve Adler, City Manager Spencer Cronk, and several city council members, outlining the request. The letter also demanded an independent investigation into Ramos’ death.