Full article by Britny Eubank
AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department (APD) is investigating after an incident that resulted in an officer fatally shooting a man.
Police Chief Joseph Chacon said at 4:54 a.m. on Thursday, July 20, a 911 call came in indicating a woman was frantically knocking on the door of an apartment at the Tides at South Lamar complex, located at 3622 Menchaca Road. The caller said the woman was asking for help.
One minute later, APD officers headed to the residence, where they arrived four to five minutes later and spoke with the woman who was knocking on the door. The woman told police there was a man chasing her throughout the complex and that she feared for her life.
The officers broadcasted that a man was seen running west through the complex. Chacon said that body camera video from the responding officers showed the man had a weapon that looked like a knife.
According to Chacon, the officers ordered the man to drop the weapon before drawing their weapons and trying to de-escalate the situation.
Chacon said that the man yelled at the officers to shoot and kill him. One officer attempted to TASER the man, but it was ineffective. The officers continued to command the man to drop his weapon. A second officer then attempted to TASER the man again, but that was also ineffective, according to Chacon.
It was at this time that a third officer fired his weapon and the man went down. Life-saving measures were performed, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
#BREAKING: @Austin_Police is investigating a deadly officer involved shooting that happened in the 3600 block of Manchaca Rd. A man is dead after police say he approached officers with a weapon, they say could have been a knife in the parking lot of the Tides Apartments pic.twitter.com/nhpP11RCPT — Eric Pointer (@EricPointerTV) July 20, 2023
Chacon said that the officer who fired their weapon is now on paid administrative leave, per APD's policy. Also per APD policy, the body camera video from the responding officers will be released within 10 days, according to Chacon.
"Our officers are placed in extremely difficult situations every single day. I can tell you that these type of things happen, unfortunately, on a regular basis. And most of the time, we are able to deescalate them, get people into custody safely and with either no injury or minimal injury," Chacon said. "This is just a tragic circumstance. And we've got to take care of officers, as well as take care of the scene and the family of all involved."
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Chacon said this is believed to be an isolated incident, and there is no information to indicate any danger to the public. The woman involved in the incident is safe and believed to be uninjured. It is not known if she lives at the complex.
No information is available about the man involved in this incident, and it is unclear how he and the woman knew each other.
This investigation is being conducted by APD's special investigation unit.