Austin Officers Cleared In Motorist's Shooting Death

AUSTIN, TX — A pair of police officers have been cleared in the January 2019 shooting death of a man who had evaded a police stop before producing a handgun.

The Travis County District Attorney's Office cleared officers Luis Camacho and Robert Mattingly in the death of Paul Cantu, 27, who was driving a 2013 black Chrysler after evading a traffic stop in South Austin during the early hours of Jan. 29, 2019, prosecutors explained in a press advisory.

A patrol supervisor, Sgt. Michael Joseph, was in the area when he located the vehicle and approached the car. The officer observed movement inside the Chrysler before Cantu emerged with a gun in hand raised at Joseph, the DA's office said.

Joseph then pulled out his service weapon while giving Cantu commands to drop the gun before the suspect dropped to his knees while still holding the gun, according to prosecutors. Cantu was described as distraught, at one point pointing the gun to himself, officials said. The officer called for backup while attempting to calm the distraught man, prosecutors added.

After Camacho and Mattingly arrived at the scene, Cantu unexpectedly rose to his feet while pointing the gun at the officers, prompting the arriving officers to fire their weapons. The mortally wounded Cantu was transported to the hospital where he died a short time later.

"In this case, the District Attorney’s Office has determined that each officer’s use of deadly force was justified under the facts established in the investigation," the district attorney's office wrote. "The Travis County District Attorney’s Office has determined that the credible facts establish that the two officers use of force was justified under applicable Texas law governing when an officer may use deadly force."

As a result of that determination, District Attorney Margaret Moore has declined to present the case to a grand jury, she said, and has issued a declination letter summarizing the facts of the investigation and the legal analysis forming the basis for her decision.

A full discussion of these facts and the legal analysis forming the basis for the declination letter will be published on the District Attorney’s Civil Rights Unit web page.

>>> The author is not related to the deceased suspect.