Posted on 01/31/2011 10:55:49 AM PST by SwinneySwitch
McALLEN — A police officer who shot a man while responding to a domestic dispute late Sunday night was justifed in using deadly force, McAllen Police Chief Victor Rodriguez said Monday.
Officer Richard Villarreal fired one shot at the man after the suspect allegedly failed to put down two butcher knives while investigators tried to quell a domestic situation.
The shooting occurred when McAllen police responded to a domestic dispute at 904 Redwood Ave., No. 1, about midnight Sunday, the chief said.
Carlos Esquivel, 47, allegedly assaulted officers as they attempted to enter his apartment to respond to the dispute, Rodriguez said. Police took Esquivel's wife outside to interview her. Moments later, officers say he came charging toward police with two large butcher knives.
"He refused to put his weapons down," the chief said.
Four officers at the scene, including Villarreal, ordered Esquivel to drop his knife as many as a dozen times.
With Esquivel refusing to back off, Villarreal fired one shot into his abdomen from about 10 feet away, Rodriguez said.
Esquivel was rushed to McAllen Medical Center, where he remained in stable condition Monday morning. He is expected to recover from the gunshot wound, Rodriguez said.
Once he recovers, Esquivel will face four counts of either attempted murder or aggravated assault of a peace officer.
Esquivel is a Guatemalan national previously deported from the U.S., the chief said. He has an arrest record in McAllen and Arizona on drug and assault charges.
"Obviously, it's a stressful moment for all who were involved in these situations," Rodriguez said. "It's the type of thing you prepare for doing this work, but you hope it never happens. It's a test of your ability when it does happen this way."
Villarreal, a 14-year veteran of the McAllen Police Department, is back on duty, the chief said.
McAllen police investigators continue to examine the case. Once the investigation is finished, a grand jury and the Hidalgo County District Attorney's Office will determine if any further charges should be brought against Esquivel, or if Villarreal should face criminal charges.
They must have forgot to charge their tasers, or something.
Maybe the cop thought the bad guy was a dog.
Or, maybe he was a good cop who thought the bad guy wanted to filet him. Not defending bad cops, of course, but not all cops are dog killers.
Pee poor shooting, aim higher dummy.
I really wonder how often these cases are cases of “suicide by cop”. Or at least attempted as is this case.
For some reason, the market scene from “Raiders of the Lost Ark” comes to mind.
Larry there are a lot of good cops. My statement was tongue in cheek (with a bit of a slap at bad cops thrown in). I have zero problems with the officer using deadly force in this case and cases like it.
“It was a good ending”
IMO, a ‘good ending’ would be a trip to the coroner’s office for the perp. He isn’t going to change.
Yeah, I should have known. Sometimes it gets a bit repetitive around here. :-)
Wonder if Obama will arrest and try the police officer because he shot an Illegal Alien....like what George W Bush did to our law enforcement?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.