Austin officer-involved shooting: Protesters calling for accountability after death of teen

AUSTIN, Texas - A crowd of protesters gathered in downtown Austin to call for accountability in the death of a 17-year-old.

Deadly Austin officer-involved shooting

The backstory:

At Wooldridge Square, people were holding signs with pictures of 17-year-old Anthoneil Williams II, who was shot and killed by Austin police officers on July 24.

The protest comes in response to an incident last week, when APD received a call for a young person brandishing a gun near Dessau Rd. Officers located Williams at a nearby park. 

Body cam footage then showed officers asking Williams if he was alright. Directions were given to make sure they could see his hands. That’s when APD says Williams lifted his sweatshirt and reached for his waistband.

"The male quickly, very suddenly, with one hand, raised his sweatshirt and with the other went into his waistband, and officers fired several shots," said APD Chief Lisa Davis.

It would later be revealed that Williams was unarmed and had a water bottle in his waistband. Chief Davis called the incident a potential suicide by police, after announcing that the initial 911 call came from William’s phone.

Friends of the victim speak out

Local perspective:

Chants for change and calls for reform were repeatedly heard, with officer accountability seen as a top priority. 

"They will go to every length to cover up their crimes against humanity," said Nicole Nunez, a protester. "All the police know that they have immunity to murder whoever they want, and there is no de-escalation when they are dealing with people."

"Suicide by police? That’s not what a suicide is. Suicide is killing yourself. These cops killed this boy," said Nunez.

The three officers involved in the shooting have been put on administrative leave, a routine protocol for APD, but Tuesday’s protesters believed that criminal charges are the next step forward.

"I think really what people are striving for out here is to just see these cops basically take accountability for this. They need to be put in jail, honestly," said Garrett Howard, another protester. "It's disgusting how many times this has happened, and it seems like we've learned nothing."

For those who personally knew Anthoneil, the protest at Wooldridge Square was the next step in processing his passing.

"He wouldn't want to see us crying. I already cried. I've been crying for the past four days, but man, he wouldn't let anybody cry. He would want us to stay strong," said Ameer Alogaili, alongside Joseph Hernandez. 

The two 16-year-olds say they had been friends with Williams for years.

"You couldn't be mad at him. You come up to him mad, he’s going to put a smile on your face. He was making everybody laugh back then," said Alogaili.

"It’s not believable, it’s not believable," the two teens said when asked about APD’s claim that William’s death was a potential suicide by police. "For somebody to just come kill him and be like, ‘oh, no, he wanted us to kill him.’ What are you talking about right now?"

As the investigation into his death moves forward, Ameer and Joseph made it clear they would never give up on their search for answers.

"Till the day I die, we're going to stay here fighting for Anthoneil."

Crime and Public SafetyAustin