(enlarge photo) Posted on 06/17/2005 6:24:09 AM PDT by ken21
Hundreds push for answers in shooting death; Knee hears calls to quit Police chief, city leaders meet with East Austin residents.
Ralph Barrera/AMERICAN-STATESMAN
(enlarge photo)
Bobby Taylor, the Rocha family's lawyer, asked the crowd to be patient and let the Police Department finish their presentation at the meeting.
* Photo gallery: Police shooting victim memorial, 06.11.05 * Police fatally shoot man in drug sting, 06.10.05 * Austin Police Department release on officer-involved shooting (PDF) * Get Acrobat Reader
* Special report: Unequal force
In a typical weekend scene, this one in the early morning of Oct. 4, Austin mounted officers keep an eye on Sixth Street revelers. Sixth and Trinity streets, where police have a weekend command post, is the site generating the most use of force reports. http://www.statesman.com/specialreports/content/specialreports/useofforce/index.html
By Tony Plohetski
AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
Friday, June 17, 2005
Austin Assistant Police Chief Rudy Landeros could barely complete an opening statement about what happened the night an officer shot and killed an 18-year-old.
"Murderer!" one person shouted from the audience.
"Justice!" screamed another.
"You executed him!" yelled a third.
During a lengthy town hall meeting Thursday night to discuss the June 9 shooting of Daniel Rocha, many in the East Austin community where he lived demanded answers from city and police leaders and called for the resignation of police Chief Stan Knee.
Hundreds of people spent hours listening to questions, which included why Officer Julie Schroeder shot Rocha in the back, why video cameras failed to capture the shooting and whether Schroeder would be allowed to return to work.
The crowd, gathered in a gymnasium at the Dove Springs Recreation Center, was made up of teenagers who knew Rocha, concerned neighborhood residents and the slain teenager's family.
The questions in the tension-filled session ranged from angry shouts to calm, reasoned queries.
The mother of Sophia King, a mentally ill woman who was shot and killed by police in 2002, also was in the audience, as was Barbara Shorts, whose son, Jesse Lee Owens, was shot and killed by an officer in 2003.
About 45 minutes into the meeting, Shorts delivered an impassioned speech in which she expressed support for Daniel Rocha's mother, Daniela Rocha, and discussed the sadness that she said she lives with daily.
Sitting in the front row only a few feet from Knee, she said, "I have to question your ability to lead, Chief Knee." Her statement was met by a round of applause from the audience.
"I've tried very hard for two years to be patient," Shorts said. "I question whether you can honestly regain the trust of the community. If you cannot lead the police department, I'm begging you, begging you, to put someone in there who can."
Later, King's mother, Brenda Elendu, said, "How could you justify taking someone's loved one? We're a part of society just like West Lake Hills, Bee Cave and 360. Why can't our kids get the same treatment, instead of being gunned down like dogs."
Knee and other city leaders, including City Manager Toby Futrell and City Council members Raul Alvarez and Danny Thomas sat grim-faced through much of the meeting. Knee and Landeros fielded question after question from the crowd as Futrell sat silently by.
Knee defended the work of Schroeder, saying that she has had no sustained allegations of misconduct during her career. He said that the investigation about whether her fatal shot was a mistake will be reviewed by the department, a Travis County grand jury and federal investigators.
Rafael Wells, 19, a friend of Rocha's, stepped to a podium where participants were asking questions. "Y'all got pepper spray. Y'all got mace. Why didn't y'all use one of those?"
Landeros answered by saying that Schroeder feared for her safety.
Several participants said after they left the meeting that they felt little to no closure.
Krystal Gomez, 23, said, "I came here with a lot of questions and concerns, and I got the answers I assumed I would get — basically vague."
http://www.statesman.com/metrostate/content/metro/stories/06/11shooting.html
here's thursday's update from klbj:
ROCHA SHOOTING IN HANDS OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS
THE INVESTIGATION INTO AUSTIN POLICE OFFICER JULIE SCHROEDER'S ACTIONS LEADING TO THE SHOOTING OF A DRUG SUSPECT IS NOW IN THE HANDS OF INTERNAL AFFAIRS. ASSISTANT CHIEF RUDY LANDEROS WITH A-P-D SAYS THE CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION IS ABOUT 95-PERCENT COMPLETE. HOMICIDE INVESTIGATORS GAVE THEIR INFORMATION TO THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY TODAY SO IT CAN GO TO A GRAND JURY.
also, on klbj the other morning they interviewed a guy who represents a california manufacturer of a police digital recording system. costs about the same as the tapes the austin police use.
a lot of people are wondering why the austin police spent so much money on an obsolete video taping system that requires tapes and manual operation. it's human nature in times of duress to forget to do things.
most home users are converting from tapes to digital media. and, klbj was wondering why the police didn't do the same.
Thanks for the update.
I'm not insulted.
Oh man, I thought you might have caught that live when News8 was airing it. I couldn't stomach too much of it as the protesters were out of control. I do think APD needs to get modern with their equipment and train the officers on how to operate it properly, rather than continue sending them to endless diversity training.
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