With a legal objection now withdrawn, the Austin Police Department says it will go ahead with its plan to release dashboard and body camera recordings of an officer shooting that ended in the death of a 42-year-old black and Hispanic man.
Under a policy finalized just last week, the police department has 60 days from the day of the incident to release audio and video footage, including recordings of 911 calls.
“APD remains committed to building trust within our community, and as such, we are moving forward with plans to release the video,” a department spokesperson wrote in an email Tuesday evening.
On April 24, police shot twice at Michael Ramos, first with a "bean bag" round while Ramos was standing with his hands up outside a car. Ramos then got in the car and began driving away. A second officer, identified by the department as Christopher Taylor, shot at the car. Ramos crashed it and was later pronounced dead.
Police had been responding to a call that someone was holding a gun in the parking lot of a Southeast Austin apartment building. But Police Chief Brian Manley said at a press conference Monday that investigators did not find a firearm in or around the car Ramos was driving.
Manley also said it had always been his intention to release footage of the shooting.
“It is still my intention to release those videos at our earliest opportunity,” he said Monday. “However, we have to protect the integrity of this ongoing investigation.”
Manley was referring, in part, to a legal motion filed by Officer Taylor’s lawyers to stop the release of the video footage. But according to the Austin-American Statesman, that motion was withdrawn Tuesday, prompting APD to say it was moving forward with plans to release videos of the shooting.
By KUT’s calculation, the department’s new policy gives them until June 23 to release the video. APD did not say when exactly they planned to do so.
Got a tip? Email Audrey McGlinchy at audrey@kut.org. Follow her on Twitter @AKMcGlinchy.
If you found the reporting above valuable, please consider making a donation to support it. Your gift pays for everything you find on KUT.org. Thanks for donating today.
