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Suspect Pointed Gun at Off-Duty Officer, Later Led To Officer Involved Shooting
Published 3 years ago
On January 5, 2021 off-duty Austin Police Officer, Gabriel Guiterrez took shots at a vehicle driven by the suspect, later identified as 27-year-old Alexander Gonzales. Officer Guiterrez took his initial instincts to defend himself when Gonzales allegedly cut him off in traffic, then brandished a fire-arm.
Soon after the incident, local APD Officers responded to the southeastern side of Austin, when Officer Nenno, Serrato, and Gutierrez held Gonzales at gun point on the side of the road. Gonzales exited the driver side of the vehicle, placing one hand on the roof and one on the door of his car. The Officers continued to tell Gonzales, "walk toward us", "move away from the car", and "alto" in an attempt to get him to comply.
As seen in the footage, Gonzales has his eyes on the back seat of his personal vehicle the entire time Officers communicate with him. Moments later, Gonzales moves to the rear passenger side of the car and opened the door. Officer Serrato moves himself to gain a better visual on Gonzales and continues to repeat "Do not reach".
Officer Serrato evaluating this situation, began firing at Gonzales when he started reaching in the back seat of the vehicle. Refusing to comply, the Officer made the split second decision to disable the suspect to protect himself and his fellow Officers.
Gonzales was treated on the scene for his injuries until medical transport would arrive. He was later pronounced dead due to the gunshot wounds he sustained during the encounter. It was later identified that a loaded handgun was present in the vehicle Gonzales was driving.
Tough situation that took ample time to evaluate and escalate. Do you think the Officer made the right choice? Let us know what you think in the comments below.