Austin police: Man dead after Southeast Austin officer-involved shooting

AUSTIN, Texas - A man has died after an officer-involved shooting in Southeast Austin, says Austin police.

Austin Police Chief Brian Manley briefed the media near the scene at the intersection of Oltorf Street and S. Pleasant Valley Road.

APD reported at 6:40 p.m. on Twitter that AIR1 was responding to the 2600 block of S. Pleasant Valley Road to assist patrol units with a gun urgent call of a suspect holding a gun in the air. Manley said that the description of the vehicle in the call may have matched one involved in an incident on Thursday where the suspect escaped police custody.

APD first arrived on the scene at 6:35 p.m., says Manley, and waited until several officers were there before approaching the vehicle. Officers gave commands to the occupant in the vehicle.

The suspect described in the gun urgent call then got out of the vehicle and had his hands up in the air and Manley said he was not complying with the officers' commands and that the officers then discussed using a less lethal method, such as a beanbag shotgun, to gain compliance.

An officer fired a beanbag shotgun at the suspect and at that point, Manley says the suspect got back in the vehicle and attempted to leave the scene. As the vehicle pulled out of the parking space and turned, another officer fired his rifle and the vehicle drove down a short distance and crashed into a parked car.

EMS at the scene transported the suspect to a local hospital where he was later pronounced dead. Manley says the deceased is believed to be a 42-year-old Hispanic man.

Two officers were involved in the shooting, according to Manley. The one who fired the beanbag shotgun had recently graduated in the last APD cadet class and has been on the street for three months. The one who had fired the lethal rifle has been with the department for five years.

Manley says the case is under investigation and that based on the description of the vehicle and the people involved and officers' knowledge of incidents over the last week, this incident may be linked to recent burglaries and the police evasion on Thursday.

There are many videos of the incident including body camera footage. Manley says he reviewed one camera's footage and that the footage follows the timeline he shared in the briefing.

Manley says APD will likely obtain a search warrant to locate the gun described in the initial 9-1-1 call. 

The lengthy multi-prong investigation into the shooting will involve the District Attorney's office, the APD Special Investigations Unit and the APD Internal Affairs Unit with the involvement of the Office of Police Oversight, says Manley.