Police union slams D.A. after verdict in Melissa Perez shooting
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San Antonio police at a crime scene in 2022. Photo: Nick Wagner/Xinhua via Getty Images
The San Antonio police union accused District Attorney Joe Gonzales of "prosecutorial misconduct" after a jury acquitted three former officers in the 2023 death of Melissa Perez, who was experiencing a mental health crisis when police shot her.
The big picture: The case is widely believed to be the first time San Antonio police officers were charged with murder related to an on-duty shooting.
The latest: The Bexar County District Attorney's Office said it "respects the jury's verdict and has no further comment."
- The city of San Antonio noted that disciplinary and civil cases involving the officers remain pending, according to KSAT.
- Perez's family has not publicly commented on the acquittal.
Catch up quick: In June 2023, officers received a call about a woman cutting wires to a fire alarm system at her Southwest Side apartment complex. Perez eventually locked herself inside her apartment as officers attempted to arrest her.
- Former police officers Eleazar Alejandro, Alfred Flores and Nathaniel Villalobos shot at Perez as she ran toward them with a hammer. Police chief William McManus said she did not pose a threat because there was a glass door between them.
- Perez's family has said she suffered from schizophrenia and was experiencing a crisis.
State of play: Alejandro and Flores were found not guilty of murder on Monday. Villalobos was initially charged with murder but later tried on aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, because bullets from his gun did not hit Perez; Villalobos was acquitted.
Zoom in: Ben Sifuentes, a defense attorney working on behalf of the ex-officers, told reporters investigators didn't properly review the incident.
- "There was an institutional failure on the part of the police department and the prosecution in how they chose to investigate and prosecute this case," Sifuentes said, per KENS.
Flashback: Top city officials, including McManus and then-Mayor Ron Nirenberg, swiftly condemned the shooting. McManus said later that day that officers' "actions were not consistent with SAPD's policy and training."
- Officers were charged with murder within a day of the shooting, an uncommon move.
Separately, Perez's family filed a civil lawsuit against the officers and the city alleging wrongful death. A judge dismissed it in September, but the family is appealing, per the Express-News.
Zoom out: After Perez's death, the City Council expanded a program that sends mental health professionals and paramedics alongside police officers to some 911 calls.
- Mental health clinicians with the program did not reach Perez in part because of the program's limited hours at the time.
Editor's note: This story has been updated with new developments.