SAN MARCOS, TX - On Wednesday, August 14th, a Hays County Grand Jury declined to indict the officer who fatally shot 22-year-old Malachi Williams on April 11th, in the parking lot of the H-E-B grocery store.
According to the press release, after considering the evidence, the grand jury determined that the officer's actions were justified un Texas law. After the officer-involved shooting, the family of Williams demanded that the body camera footage be released for the sake of transparency. According to reports, that footage was not shared with the public until Friday, August 16th, four months after the incident.
After the announcement from Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins' office, the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) held a news conference to discuss the grand jury's decision and to present the body camera footage from the incident.
SMPD Police Chief Stan Standridge said that he had reached out to Williams' family on April 27th to show them the footage, but that he only heard back from an attorney representing the family who said that their first availability would be in September. Standridge said that the attorney then contacted him on Thursday, August 15th, and the chief proceeded to share the videos with him then.
Leading up to the officer-involved shooting, police were called at 9:32 p.m. on April 11th by a man who alleged that he and another person had been threatened and assaulted by Williams, who allegedly was armed with two large knives. Williams had followed the duo out of a convenience store to their home, where the victims went inside and called 911.
After arriving on scene and speaking with the victims, Officer Alcides "Alex" Ventura searched the area for Williams. The officer found him back at the convenience store. The video footage shows Ventura telling Williams to put his hands behind his back, to which Williams responded by asking why. The interaction then moved outside of the store as Ventura continued to tell Williams to put his hands behind his back. Video shows another officer approaching and pursuing Williams.
Williams ran away and as he ran, Ventura tried to Taser him, twice, but it was unsuccessful. Ventura pursued Williams on foot and after about a minute, fires his duty weapon three times at Williams from across the H-E-B gas station lot. After being shot, Williams can be seen dropping the knives and falling to the ground.
Standridge said that two of the three shots hit Williams in the back. At the news conference, Standridge showed still photos from the body cam footage and surveillance camera footage from the gas station kiosk confirming that Williams was in fact armed with two knives. He also showed footage from the H-E-B store to show that the parking lot Williams was headed to was busy.
In an affidavit Standridge read that the news conference, Ventura wrote, "I was worried that the suspect was going to harm a civilian, and I had to prevent that from occurring." The police chief said that as the suspect evidently had intent, capability, and opportunity to harm, Ventura made the decision to end the "imminent threat" by shooting.
The Texas Rangers conducted the investigation into the shooting with the assistance of the SMPD. Higgins said in a statement, "The Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office presented the results of the investigation to the Grand Jury. After hearing the evidence, the Grand Jury determined that the conduct of the officers was justified under the law and voted not to indict. This matter is now closed."
He added, "We are saddened by the loss of life, but the actions of Mr. Williams posed a threat to public safety. This officer was forced to make a difficult decision in order to protect the public."
According to the press release, after considering the evidence, the grand jury determined that the officer's actions were justified un Texas law. After the officer-involved shooting, the family of Williams demanded that the body camera footage be released for the sake of transparency. According to reports, that footage was not shared with the public until Friday, August 16th, four months after the incident.
After the announcement from Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins' office, the San Marcos Police Department (SMPD) held a news conference to discuss the grand jury's decision and to present the body camera footage from the incident.
SMPD Police Chief Stan Standridge said that he had reached out to Williams' family on April 27th to show them the footage, but that he only heard back from an attorney representing the family who said that their first availability would be in September. Standridge said that the attorney then contacted him on Thursday, August 15th, and the chief proceeded to share the videos with him then.
Leading up to the officer-involved shooting, police were called at 9:32 p.m. on April 11th by a man who alleged that he and another person had been threatened and assaulted by Williams, who allegedly was armed with two large knives. Williams had followed the duo out of a convenience store to their home, where the victims went inside and called 911.
After arriving on scene and speaking with the victims, Officer Alcides "Alex" Ventura searched the area for Williams. The officer found him back at the convenience store. The video footage shows Ventura telling Williams to put his hands behind his back, to which Williams responded by asking why. The interaction then moved outside of the store as Ventura continued to tell Williams to put his hands behind his back. Video shows another officer approaching and pursuing Williams.
Williams ran away and as he ran, Ventura tried to Taser him, twice, but it was unsuccessful. Ventura pursued Williams on foot and after about a minute, fires his duty weapon three times at Williams from across the H-E-B gas station lot. After being shot, Williams can be seen dropping the knives and falling to the ground.
Standridge said that two of the three shots hit Williams in the back. At the news conference, Standridge showed still photos from the body cam footage and surveillance camera footage from the gas station kiosk confirming that Williams was in fact armed with two knives. He also showed footage from the H-E-B store to show that the parking lot Williams was headed to was busy.
In an affidavit Standridge read that the news conference, Ventura wrote, "I was worried that the suspect was going to harm a civilian, and I had to prevent that from occurring." The police chief said that as the suspect evidently had intent, capability, and opportunity to harm, Ventura made the decision to end the "imminent threat" by shooting.
The Texas Rangers conducted the investigation into the shooting with the assistance of the SMPD. Higgins said in a statement, "The Hays County Criminal District Attorney's Office presented the results of the investigation to the Grand Jury. After hearing the evidence, the Grand Jury determined that the conduct of the officers was justified under the law and voted not to indict. This matter is now closed."
He added, "We are saddened by the loss of life, but the actions of Mr. Williams posed a threat to public safety. This officer was forced to make a difficult decision in order to protect the public."
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2024-08-22T20:49-0400 | Comment by: Nikki
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