By Rhyma Castillo
Source San Antonio Express-News
The San Antonio Police Department has released bodycam footage of a February incident in which a knife-wielding suspect was shot after he drove his car into Woodlawn Lake and disregarded police commands to drop his weapon.
The incident occurred at about 12:30 p.m. on Feb. 15 at Woodlawn Lake Park on the city's West Side. According to a same-day news conference from SAPD Assistant Chief Jesse Salame, the 30-year-old male suspect drove "erratically" through the park and the walking trail before he "crashed out" in the lake.
The first officer on the scene was a 9-year veteran of the Park Police Department. According to Salame, she approached the suspect to conduct a welfare check. In the bodycam footage, the officer can be seen walking toward the lake's edge to help the man, who was driving what appeared to be a black sedan.
"Sir, are you okay? Are you sure you can move? Is there anyone in the vehicle with you?," the officer can be heard asking. She confirms no one else is in the vehicle and cautions the suspect to exit the partially submerged vehicle carefully.
"Do you need a towel," she asks him.
The man can be seen getting out of the car and sliding over the hood to try and get out of the lake. At one point, he falls in.
"Careful, careful," she can be heard saying. "Just hold on to the car, keep making your way, okay?"
In the video, her arms are outstretched as she walks toward him to help. As the suspect moves closer, the officer notices he has a knife in his pocket.
"Hold on, hold on," she says. "You have a knife in your pocket, buddy."
The suspect then pulls the knife out of his pocket.
"Put it down, throw it down, throw it down. Throw it down, throw it down," the officer can be heard saying as she draws her weapon. She alerts her fellow officers that she has a knife-wielding suspect at gunpoint and that he's coming toward her.
"Put down the knife. Put down the knife. Please, I don't want to shoot you. What's going on? What's going on? Please, stop, stop. I don't want to shoot you. Stop. Stop," she frantically yells at him.
When he doesn't stop, the officer fires her weapon at the suspect, who appears to be hit in the abdomen. The suspect continues walking toward the officer, still holding the knife in front of him.
"Stop, put the knife down. Please. Put the knife down. Please," she screams as she fires a second shot and the suspect falls to the ground.
According to Salame's Feb. 15 news conference, at least one of the officer's shots hit the suspect's torso.
"The suspect stopped and he was able to be taken into custody," Salame said. "He was treated for his injuries. He was alert and talking when he was transported to the hospital. We're told he is in critical but stable condition."
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