Michael Karlis
High-profile civil rights attorney Lee Merritt speaks to reporters gathered outside San Antonio's federal courthouse Wednesday.
The suit, filed in San Antonio, argues that SAPD officer Stephen Ramos violated Hernandez's Fourth Amendment right to be protected against unlawful search and seizure. Hernandez was the second San Antonio civilian to be fatally shot by Ramos in a little more than a year's time, Merritt told reporters during a press conference at the federal courthouse.
"We believe that the officers used more force than necessary to arrest AJ Hernandez, that there was no justification for the use of deadly force," Merritt said. "But it follows a pattern that we've seen throughout the city of San Antonio and throughout Bexar County."
In an emailed statement, San Antonio City Attorney Andy Segovia said a Bexar County said the city will seek to resolve the matter through the courts.
“This is a tragic incident and our sympathies are with Mr. Hernandez’s family, however, the evidence clearly shows that the officer’s actions were justified," Segovia said.
SAPD officials were unavailable for comment at press time.
Ramos shot and killed Hernandez on June 3, 2022, after officers were dispatched to investigate a stolen vehicle report in Southwest San Antonio. Ramos said he shot at Hernandez because he believed another officer's life was in danger. The youth was behind the wheel of a car that T-boned a police cruiser during the call, according to SAPD statements.
Shortly after the shooting, Merritt argued that body-cam footage, which has never been publicly released, contradicted SAPD claims that Hernandez T-boned the police vehicle.
However, a Bexar County grand jury last February declined to indict Ramos over the shooting, saying there was insufficient evidence. A separate grand jury opted not to indict Ramos in the March 2021 shooting death of John Peña Montez, a man the officer said he shot because he lunged with a knife. Montez's family disputes that claim.
Dallas-based attorney Blerim Elmazi, who's co-counsel on the federal lawsuit, said he expects Ramos, SAPD and the City of San Antonio — all of whom are named as defendants — to challenge the suit in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans.
Merritt warned that the notoriously conservative Fifth Circuit is the last place the defendants want the suit to end up, though.
"The Fifth Circuit has put out some of the most conservative decisions concerning deadly use of force by officers," Merritt said. "They offer officers a wide latitude of when they're able to use force. However, the Fifth Circuit has repeatedly turned on the issue of whether or not officers are authorized to use deadly force when shooting into moving vehicles, and their decisions have been consistent with the best practices all over the country."
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