San Antonio police clashed with a crowd that gathered after three police officers fatally shot a man they said pulled out a gun while they tried to arrest him.
The man was wanted on two felony warrants, including assault of a police officer and possession of a firearm, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said. Patrol officers were trying to execute the warrants Monday afternoon when the man fled, he said.
Officers opened fire when he pulled a gun from his waistband, the police chief said. The man died at the scene, where a handgun was recovered, McManus said.
Police did not immediately release the man's name, but family members identified him as Kevin Johnson.
McManus said he didn’t know how many rounds the officers fired or how many times the man had been shot. But Jasmine Johnson, who identified herself as Johnson's sister, said witnesses told the family that her brother had been shot nine times in the back.
“He's not a bad person so there's no reason why this should have happened,” Jasmine Johnson said. “Nobody deserves to get shot in the back nine times.”
A crowd that gathered after the shooting clashed with police, who at one point used pepper spray on the group. Johnson's mother, Arlene Garcia, told San Antonio TV station KSAT that family members wanted answers about what happened.
”They shot my son from behind, and that’s wrong. They shot him nine times, and nobody here has nothing to say to me. Nobody has nothing to say,” Garcia said, gesturing to police officers.
The three officers who were involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative duty, according to department policy, McManus said.
