Officers shoot 2 in N. Austin incidents
Two APD officers, Texas trooper wound suspects in separate shootings.
Two separate shootings involving law enforcement officers, which happened about a mile and a half apart in North Austin and left two men wounded, are under investigation.
Two Austin police officers were placed on administrative leave Sunday after Chief Brian Manley said they fired on a robbery suspect who had drawn a gun from his waistband. The shooting occurred in the parking lot of the Austin Suites Hotel, 8300 N. Interstate 35.
The officers were not identified, but Manley said one was a sergeant of 21 years and the other was a patrol officer with six years of service.
Manley did not specify how many shots were fired or how many wounds the unidentified suspect sustained. The department also did not specify the time the shooting occurred, saying the incident remains under investigation. An APD tweet about the shooting was sent at 2:22 a.m. Sunday.
Officers performed life saving measures, including CPR, at the scene, Manley said Sunday morning during a news conference. The man was taken to a nearby hospital and is listed in stable condition.
A firearm that officers believe belongs to the suspect is being processed as evidence. The case
remains under investigation.
APD officers have been involved in nine shootings this year, resulting in six deaths and leaving three people wounded.
The latest shooting this year involving Austin police came hours after a Texas state trooper shot a 21-year-old Leander man while pursuing a stolen vehicle, according to a news release from the Department of Public Safety.
DPS identified the wounded man as Dustin Lee Dougherty. He was taken to a nearby hospital, treated and released before being booked into the Travis County Jail. Officials said Dougherty was charged with assault on a public servant, evading arrest/detention with a vehicle, unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and evading arrest/detention.
The trooper was not identified by DPS officials, who didn’t offer additional details about the incident or the number of shots fired by the trooper.
According to the DPS news
The shooting was the third this year involving two officers firing their weapons, and the sixth police shooting involving multiple officers.
release, the chase began at approximately 10:16 p.m. Saturday in Austin. During the course of the chase, the release states, Dougherty assaulted the trooper, who fired and struck Dougherty.
The shooting took place in the 100 block of Fawnridge Drive in North Austin, about a half mile west of Interstate 35.
DPS officials said the Texas Rangers are investigating the shooting.
Roughly about half an hour after the DPS trooper began his pursuit, Austin police were called to investigate a reported robbery at a convenience store on North Lamar Boulevard. During their investigation, Manley said, the officers found a man matching the suspect’s description seated in a vehicle. The officers requested backup and began to create a plan to detain the suspect, whose vehicle was parked in back of the Austin Suites Hotel.
At the point, the suspect exited the car, Manley said, and began walking away from the hotel and toward I-35. The officers approached the man as he began to flee and saw him draw a firearm. Two officers then fired their weapons, wounding the suspect.
Police think the robbery is one of a series of aggravated robberies that have taken place across Austin over the past week. Investigators pursuing the case said the suspect would steal a car, use it to rob a business and then abandon it in a nearby neighborhood while escaping.
The shooting was the third this year involving two officers firing their weapons, and the sixth police shooting involving multiple officers.
Officials said more information on the incident could be released Monday.