This browser does not support the Video element.
Body cam footage shows officer shot in Austin
Newly-released body cam video shows the moment 56-year-old Dwayne Brzozowski shot an officer making a welfare check. The neighbor who called in the welfare check says he never would have done so if he knew what would happen next.
AUSTIN, Texas - A welfare check turned into a shootout on August 6. Body camera video shows the moment an Austin police officer was shot by a suspect in southeast Austin.
The neighbor who made the call said he never would have done so if he knew this was going to happen.
"I was calling to ask for a welfare check on my neighbor. I haven’t seen him in about six to eight months," Samuel Garcia, the man who called for the welfare check, said to 911 dispatch.
Garcia said he hadn’t seen any movement inside or outside his neighbor’s house, deliveries weren’t coming anymore, and the lights and A/C were not on.
"It’s so dark in the house," Garcia said. "It’s a house that you put on a scary movie."
This browser does not support the Video element.
APD officer shot in Southeast Austin
Officials say it started with a welfare check on Channel Island Road Sunday night. The suspect surrendered after a SWAT standoff and is now in police custody.
When officers arrived, they knocked on the door, went around the house and looked through the windows, but got no answer.
"At this point. I was thinking that they were going to recover a body," Garcia said.
Video shows the officers kicked in the door, announced themselves, and being met with 56-year-old Dwayne Brzozowski with a gun.
RELATED: Suspect identified in officer-involved shooting in Southeast Austin: APD
The officers ran. One hid behind a car next door and the other took cover in the neighbor’s garage.
"He’s on the porch with a shotgun. Oh god. Shots fired," an Austin police officer said.
"So many things are happening, I’m trying to keep everybody in my household safe," Garcia said. "I hide my kids; I go into my restroom and get my guns and when I loaded my guns at that moment. I was like, ok, this is real. You have guns for protection, but you never want to load them in your house."
Brzozowski then fired his shot gun directly into Garcia’s home.
"I hear a super loud, loud like next to my ear bang, and it was the shot that hit my door and everything just in me went numb," Garcia said.
CRIME IN AUSTIN
- APD searching for north Austin robbery suspect
- Threat prompts extra security at Bowie High School
- South Austin small businesses hit again as homeless come back after cleanup
- UT police give all-clear after incident at Target on campus
- Suspect in St. David's explosion had box with chemicals in apartment: affidavit
A bullet went flying through Garcia’s children’s playroom.
"Why did he do that to me? It's a question that at this point I don't even want to ask because to think that he did it with intention to kill us, it's just something that I don't want to hear," Garcia said.
Investigators said Brzozowski went back into his home, SWAT arrived, and he surrendered to police about two and half hours later. Brzozowski is charged with two counts of aggravated assault on a public servant and two counts of deadly conduct.
"I’m so grateful for the police officer, both of them. I’m so grateful for everybody that showed up. I will live the rest of my life with an eternal gratitude towards them," Garcia said.
Both detectives have been placed on administrative leave which is standard APD protocol. Brzozowski is recovering in the hospital after being shot.