Posted on 04/04/2003 10:45:02 AM PST by wildbill
Police, citing threat, shoot at another driver
For the second time in two days, a San Antonio police officer used deadly force against a motorist the officer says tried to run him over.
Officer Raul Valdez fired once at a motorist late Wednesday night but did not injure him, police said.
On Tuesday, a downtown bike patrol officer fatally shot a 19-year-old man who hit the officer's legs with his vehicle, according to police.
In both instances, the officers involved in the shootings said they feared for their lives, police said.
Scott Everett Beasley, of Dilley, was charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, evading arrest and failure to identify to a police officer with warrants, meaning he didn't tell the officer there was a warrant for his arrest on a charge of possession of marijuana.
Beasley, 39, was being held in Bexar County Jail in lieu of $108,200 bond.
Wednesday's shooting began shortly after 11 p.m. when Valdez and another officer heard a disturbance while patrolling a Southeast Side apartment complex in the 300 block of Chaucer, according to a police report.
While investigating the scene, the officers smelled the odor of marijuana and questioned three men, one of whom gave police a fake name, according to the report.
After getting "nervous," the man got in a truck and tried to pull away as the officers ordered him to stop, the report stated.
One officer tried to pull the motorist out of the open driver's-side door as the truck backed up. The driver then drove forward at a high rate of speed toward Valdez, who had his gun drawn and was ordering him to stop, according to police.
Valdez fired once, shattering the front windshield. The driver fled.Police said they later found Beasley hiding in a nearby bush.
Jonie Garcia, 81, said she was awakened by the commotion outside. "I heard a car speeding up, burning rubber," she said. "Then I heard a gunshot."
Police spokesman Gabe Trevino said a vehicle can be considered a deadly weapon. "We will act appropriately if and when an officer is assaulted," he said. "The officer felt that his life was in danger."
Trevino said disarming a vehicle by, for example, shooting out the tires, is not a plausible solution when there is a short amount of time and a small amount of space to work with.
A "19 year old 'boy'" who "hit the officer's legs with his vehicle" ...
What were the circumstances?
Self, when in the proximity of police officers, I will not attempt to run the police officer over.
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