Three San Antonio police officers are facing murder charges for the shooting death of Melissa Perez, a woman who was in the midst of a “mental health crisis,” according to Police Chief William McManus. The officers involved, Sgt. Alfred Flores and officers Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos, have been suspended without pay and subsequently arrested. Chief McManus stated during a news conference that their actions went against the policy and training of the San Antonio Police Department. He added, “They used deadly force which was not reasonable given all the circumstances as we now understand them.”
McManus revealed that one of the officers opened fire after Perez threw a glass candlestick and swung a hammer at them. The other two officers then also fired their weapons when Perez approached them again with the hammer, ultimately striking her at least twice. Prior to the shooting, Perez was a suspect for cutting the wires of a fire alarm, a felony offense, at the apartment complex. When an officer approached her and asked her to come towards a patrol car, she refused and walked away.
According to Chief McManus, it was apparent that Perez was experiencing a mental health crisis. After running into her apartment, body camera footage shows an officer removing a window screen while Perez protests and claims they have no warrant. The situation escalated, and the sound of glass breaking is followed by gunshots. Chief McManus did not take questions, as the incident is under investigation by the Police Department’s Internal Affairs and Civil Rights divisions, as well as the Bexar County district attorney’s Civil Rights Division.
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