APD release bodycam video in SE Austin officer-involved shooting

Lashondell Gillespie has been identified as the man involved in the incident that happened on Highway 183 on August 19 during rush hour.

AUSTIN, Texas - The Austin Police Department has released new details as it continues to investigate an officer-involved shooting in southeast Austin near the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport that happened on August 19.

Police say a call came in around 4:35 p.m. on August 19 regarding a man, identified as 51-year-old Lashondell Gillespie, on the highway in the 2100 block of South U.S. 183 northbound during rush hour.

The first officers arrived at the scene at around 4:37 p.m. and located Gillespie who police say appeared to be aggressive and was in the middle of the highway lanes of traffic. An officer reported that Gillespie appeared to have a knife in his hand.

At around 4:40 p.m. additional officers arrived at the scene and officials say Gillespie advanced towards the officers with a knife.

Officers gave commands to Gillespie to drop the knife and Gillespie reportedly did not drop the knife and continued to move towards officers. Two officers fired shots, APD says five shots were fired overall, as Gillespie moved closer to them.

Police say Gillespie was injured, fell to the ground, and still refused to drop the knife. Officers asked Gillespie to drop the nife and Gillespie continued to refuse.

At around 4:44 p.m., Gillespie was tased, disarmed, and officers approached him to render aid.

Gillespie was taken to a local hospital with serious injuries and he is reportedly in stable condition. He is not facing any charges at this time and it's not clear if there are future charges pending.

None of the officers were hurt.

Both officers involved were wearing body cameras and APD says that the incident was completely captured on those cameras. Both officers will be placed on administrative leave pending investigation as per APD policy.

The two officers involved in the shooting, identified as Officer Derrick Lehman and Officer Jason Cummins, have 11 years of service with the Austin Police Department. The officer involved in the tasing, identified as Officer Michael Barba, has 17 years of service.

APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.

"Transparency and accountability are key to our ability to serve the Austin community so we will provide an account of this critical incident to help you understand the chain of events," said interim police chief Joseph Chacon.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS, or use the new Crime Stoppers App.

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