Man killed by deputy was armed with knife, body camera shows
A man shot and killed by a Harris County Sheriff ’s Office deputy during an apparent mental health crisis confronted the lawman with a knife, according to body-worn camera footage of the encounter.
Police video, shared Tuesday, outlined the moments leading up to the fatal April 14 confrontation between an unidentified deputy and 46-year-old Marcelo Garcia, who had a history of mental illness. The shooting happened outside his east Harris County home in the 5900 block of Sunflower Prairie Court as his wife and three young children watched.
Garcia’s sister, Jessica Garza-Godinez, had expressed hope that the footage’s hastened release would provide a “clear vision of what happened” to her brother. Her family’s attorneys on Monday contended Garcia was unarmed —contradicting the police narrative that he had a knife. Videos from the sheriff ’s office appear to show the blade in Garcia’s hand and by his side after the shooting.
“My brother was a beautiful person,” Garza-Godinez said. “He was the father to four, and he always made sure to let them know that academics was so important and that all four would go to college.”
Three of the children — the youngest a toddler girl — witnessed the shooting outside their home.
Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said he spoke to the family and offered his condolences ahead of sharing the unredacted body-worn footage. His office, he said, would consider releasing police footage in a similar manner following future shootings.
“We’ll use this as a model going forward,” he said.
Last week’s shooting followed what authorities said were four emergency calls at the home that took place in the six weeks prior. The deputy who shot him had responded to at least one of those four calls and was familiar with him, according to authorities. During the latest call for help, Garcia’s wife reported that her husband was having another mental health crisis.
The 11-minute video includes the following:
The deputy, after speaking with Garcia’s wife outside the home, approached the home. He rang the doorbell, and Garcia swiftly
answered the door with what appears to be a knife in his right hand.
“You’re trying to break into my house,” Garcia said.
The deputy then backed up in a hurry — an act that Gonzalez described as “retreating, basically on his heels” — and calling for backup.
Garcia next pleaded with the deputy to kill him, according to the video. The deputy, at this point, is aiming a Taser at him.
The video then shows Garcia rushing at the deputy and being shot at with the Taser, which officials said may have missed him. Amid the children’s screams, the deputy shouted in Spanish for Garcia to drop the weapon. He opened fire as Garcia continued running toward him.
Footage, meanwhile, from another deputy’s body-worn camera showed the blade next to Garcia in a pool of blood.
Security footage from a neighboring house captured the 12 seconds that preceded the gunshots and the minutes that followed. That video, which lawyers for Garcia’s family shared on Monday, shows Garcia’s crying wife and children rushing toward his collapsed body in the street. The deputy continued to stand close with his gun drawn. He paused to pick up an object attached to him.
One child cried out, “Daddy,” as sirens soon approached. Garcia, still alive at this point, struggled to get up as more law enforcement arrived with their guns drawn.
The family have asked for a meeting with Gonzalez to discuss the shooting and how the mental health crisis was handled.
Court records documented Garcia’s mental health following past brushes with law enforcement. Months after a 2017 arrest for an assault of a family member charge, doctors deemed Garcia “presently competent but insane at the time of the offense.”
Days later, a plea agreement was finalized and Garcia was granted two years deferred adjudication — which he completed. Such a deal allows a defendant to avoid a trial and conviction if the probation terms, decided by the court, are met.
During the latest call, a lone deputy arrived without the on-duty mental health unit, which was busy in Katy, authorities said.
“Unlike previous episodes where several mental health professionals responded, this time — it is believed that a single inexperienced sheriff’s deputy arrived and escalated the situation, which resulted in the shooting death of Marcelo Garcia in front of his wife and young daughters,” the family’s attorney, Bianca De Lachica, said. “A solo law enforcement officer should have never been sent to respond to that call.”
The sheriff declined to comment on whether he thought the deputy could have acted differently but said he thought he communicated well with Garcia’s wife prior to the shooting.
“I want to be careful not to let anyone feel that we’ve already gotten to our conclusion,” Gonzalez continued.