Austin police release video of officer-involved shooting on Christmas Eve

Newly-released 911 calls describe a shirtless man walking around in the middle of the road shortly before 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, following a crash in North Austin.

AUSTIN, Texas - Warning: Some viewers may find the video disturbing

Austin Police released a new video Monday of an officer-involved shooting on Christmas Eve, following a crash in North Austin.

Police released 911 audio, police radio traffic, as well as body and police dashcam video, as Chief Joseph Chacon briefed the media about the shooting Monday afternoon, in which he also identified the officer involved in the shooting.

Newly-released 911 calls describe a shirtless man walking around in the middle of the road shortly before 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, following a crash in North Austin.

Newly-released 911 calls describe a shirtless man walking around in the middle of the road shortly before 11 p.m. Christmas Eve, following a crash at the intersection of Cameron Road and US 183.

"There’s a guy walking around with a gun in his hand, an assault rifle," said one caller. "He was screaming walking around in the middle of the intersection"

"There’s a guy--he crashed. He crashed into some other people, but I guess he took off down the street, and he has an AR-15 on him. He’s at the light--swinging it everywhere, pointing it at people," said another 911 caller.

Police then received reports shots had been fired. Officers sped to the scene, where they found 29-year-old Juventino Navejar, shirtless and walking along Anderson Lane with that rifle.

APD continues investigation into Christmas Eve shooting incident

An officer-involved shooting incident that occurred on Christmas Eve night is being investigated by the Austin Police Department.

Newly-released body and dashcam video shows Navejar approaching officers—who ordered him to drop his gun. "Mr. Navejar did not comply with those commands," Chacon said Monday.

Seconds later, APD Officer Javier Rodriguez shot and wounded Navejar. The video shows police grabbing Navejar’s gun as backup arrives.

Navejar was taken to the hospital with serious but non-life-threatening injuries. No one else was hurt. Navejar was charged with possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, and remains in jail on that charge. "The information released includes preliminary information that the department has at this time," said Chacon.

Late Monday, police also confirmed Officer Rodriguez, who fired his gun Christmas Eve, is the same officer who was cleared of wrongdoing after shooting an unarmed suspect in the leg last January. The man had barricaded himself at the Springhill Suites in North Austin—spurring a swat standoff.

As for the Christmas Eve shooting, Chacon said Monday, "Investigators are in the very early stages of this investigation."

There are two joint APD probes under way: a criminal investigation in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, and an administrative investigation with the City of Austin Office of Police Oversight—both looking at this video evidence.

"Body worn and dash camera videos do not always capture everything the officer or witnesses saw or experienced during the incident, however the footage helps us to understand what occurred," said Chacon.

Monday night, both the office of Travis County DA Jose Garza and the Office of Police Oversight both declined to comment on the ongoing investigations. Officer Rodriguez remains on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of those investigations, as is protocol with officer-involved shootings.

To view and listen to the police recordings in their entirety, click here.

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APD continues investigation into Christmas Eve shooting incident

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