SAPD releases body cam video of fatal March shooting
SAN ANodyTONIO (KTSA News) — Police have released body camera footage of an officer-involved shooting from March.
Police shot and killed 28-year-old Kevin Johnson in a West Side neighborhood on March 14. Officials said that Johnson had multiple warrants out for his arrest and he had a weapon at the time of the shooting.
The video released Friday shows dashcam footage from a patrol car that saw Johnson on a bike from a distance.
SAPD Deputy Chief Chris Benavides, who is narrating yhe video, said that police had been searching for Johnson for several days as he was on parole for assault of a peace officer and had an active warrant for felon in possession of a firearm.
In the video, the officer in the vehicle immediately attempts to intercept Johnson using emergency lights and pulling the vehicle in front of his bicycle.
Benavides says that Johnson dropped his bike and began running from officers. The video cuts to bodycam footage that shows a footchase involving multiple officers to an embankment between North Elemendorf Street and North Hamilton Avenue.
The video shows Johnson falling on the shore of the shallow water in the embankment as one of the officers shouts, “Get down boy!”
Johnson is shown crossing the water, after which Benavides says police saw him holding a gun in his hand as he emerges from the water.
The officers begin shouting that Johnson is in possession of a weapon as he emerges from the water and struggles to run up the embankment and falls. Within seconds, officers open fire.
Benavides said Johnson’s body and firearm in his right hand were facing officers when they opened fire. The video shows the firearm next to Johnson’s body after the shooting.
According to Benavides, the firearm has been forensically linked to multiple violent crimes.
The officer-involved shooting and Johnson’s death caught national attention after his family confronted San Antonio police during a media briefing, escalating to police using tear gas in an attempt to disperse the crowd.
Johnson’s family has publicly been calling for the release of the video.
Critical incident video releases are required within 60-days of such an event and police released the video 18 days after the March 14 shooting.