A San Antonio police officer reportedly shot a suspect in a car burglary Thursday morning after the officer said he believed he was on the “losing end” of a fight with the suspect.
Chief William McManus told reporters that the officer was responding to a call about a man who was burglarizing vehicles in the Oyo Hotel parking lot on the city’s Far West Side around 8 a.m. The chief said the officer attempted to de-escalate the situation but was unsuccessful.
The officer then used pepper spray on the suspect, though it had no effect on him, McManus said.
The cop and suspect then got into a physical fight, and the officer was again unsuccessful in restraining the man. The officer told McManus that he felt it was necessary to “use deadly force to protect himself” and used his gun to shoot the suspect in the back of the leg.
The suspect was taken to a hospital with a non-life-threatening injury. McManus said the officer was “shaken, but not injured.” The 17-year veteran of the force will be assigned to administrative duty until an investigation of the incident is complete.
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This article appears in May 22 – Jun 4, 2019.
