Officer who killed unarmed man faces termination
The San Antonio officer who fatally shot an unarmed man in February, sparking cries of racial injustice, now faces termination, officials said Tuesday.
“Officer John Lee has been issued a contemplated indefinite suspension for placing himself unnecessarily in a tactical situation wherein he felt compelled to use deadly force,” Police Chief William McManus said in a statement.
On Feb. 4, Lee fatally shot Antronie Scott while attempting to arrest him on two felony warrants at about 6:45 p.m. after undercover officers had followed Scott to the Wood Hollow Apartments at 10362 Sahara St.
The now 12-year veteran pulled up to Scott as he was exiting a white Mercedes sedan, approached and told him, “Let me see your hands.”
Lee then almost immediately fired his service weapon because Scott spun around quickly and the officer feared for his life, McManus said during a news conference following the shooting.
Lee told investigators at the time he thought Scott had a weapon in his hand, but it was later determined to be a cellphone. His lawyer, Morris Munoz, an attorney with the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas, could not be reached for comment Tuesday evening.
On Tuesday, Scott’s family filed a civil suit. Local attorney Artessia House said she and attorney Daryl Washington had sued on behalf of Scott’s mother, Diane Peppar, seeking damages in the wrongful death of her son.
“We’re glad to see this movement is made and hope that this is matched with District Attorney (Nico) LaHood,” House said about the indefinite suspension. “This case has been presented to his office and the family is hopeful that officer Lee will be brought to justice.”
The termination of Lee, if carried through, could set a dangerous precedent for officers in the field, a local police union leader said.
Mike Helle, president of the San Antonio Police Officers Association, explained that Lee has seven days to notify the chief’s office and set a schedule for a hearing.
That’s when McManus will decide whether to uphold the indefinite suspension or lower it after speaking with the officer directly.
Any punitive ruling by a police chief is subject to an appeal process. And in the past seven years in San Antonio, five of 13 termination rulings were overturned or reduced by arbitrators on appeal —and all five initially were terminations, Deputy City Manager Erik Walsh recently told the San Antonio Express-News.
Helle said it’s important to note that the district attorney’s office hasn’t yet done its investigation and presented the findings to a grand jury.
“This particular case has been expedited and has moved quicker than any other case I can remember,” Helle said. “This thing is on rails going downhill so quickly, it almost has a hint of a rush to judgment.”
Since his return to the Police Department late last year, McManus has focused on reform. Not long after this particular shooting, he said the lengthy process used to determine whether an officer should remain on the force is skewed in the officer’s favor.
Responding to the chief’s statement that Lee put himself in that situation, Helle said that in his 27 years with the department, he has never seen anyone terminated for placing themselves in a situation.
“If the chief fires him, this will rock us to the core as a police department,” he said.
He said terminating Lee would go against all of the training officers receive when dealing with a potentially dangerous situation, referring to what they call “the golden rule”: watch the hands.
“Words and evil stares cannot kill you, but their hands can,” he said. “They can have a gun, all kinds of things that can hurt you.”
Because of the context of the approach, Helle said it’s important to consider what the conversation was between undercover officers and Lee.
“We don’t know his mindset … if they were trying to avoid a possible car chase,” Helle said. “Could something have been different? Could he have not been so close to the car? Of course, they all have the luxury of having hindsight after the fact, but he dealt with the situation that was happening in real time for him.”
Helle said two verified witnesses have stated Scott exited his vehicle in a fast and aggressive manner, which led Lee to reasonably believe that Scott had a weapon.
“I’ve talked to the officer; he himself feels bad that somebody had to die in the situation, and he’s concerned that he was forced into a situation,” Helle said. “If (the suspect) hadn’t have done that, it wouldn’t have led (Lee) to discharge his weapon and it would’ve come out differently.”
Helle said the precedent set by a termination could lead to a future encounter in which an officer does not have his gun drawn and is fatally shot by someone with a history of violence who does have a weapon.
Helle said the situation would have gone better if Scott didn’t come out of the vehicle the way he did, and possibly would have been bonded out of jail by now.
“No policeman wants to take a life. Our job is to save lives,” he said. “When you have to take a life, there are emotions that go along with that. It’s not normal.”
