Cops In Fatal South Austin Shooting Identified

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Police Department released the names of the police officers involved in the shooting that took place over the weekend in South Austin, leaving a man dead as the chief updated the public on the case during a news conference on Monday. The man killed in the shooting has also been identified.

The incident occurred on Friday evening at an apartment complex parking lot at 2601 S. Pleasant Road after police received a call reporting people taking drugs inside a vehicle. Arriving officers confronted the man who stepped out of his car with hands up in a way that revealed he had no weapon in his waistband — contrary to the assertion of the caller, as Police Chief Brian Manley said in a news conference following the incident.

After failing to comply with officers' orders, the man was shot with a non-lethal beanbag, police said. Video taken by residents who gathered outside to watch the scene unfold shows the man grimacing in pain from the projectile before stumbling back inside his vehicle to slowly drive off. As he did so, another officer fired his rifle at the fleeing vehicle multiple times, causing the driver to crash his vehicle, according to police. The man later died at a local hospital. A woman who was inside the vehicle was detained by police.

Previous coverage: Man Dies In South Austin Officer-Involved Shooting

On Monday, Manley identified the man who was killed as 42-year-old Michael Brent Ramos. The officers involved are Mitchel Pieper who was commissioned in January, and Christopher Taylor, who has been with the force since December 2014. Manley said Pieper is the officer who fired the beanbag projectile at Ramos, and Taylor fired his rifle as the man fled in his vehicle afterwards.

"Our hearts are with you as you go through this difficult time," the chief said in addressing the family of the man who was killed.

During his news conference, Manley said the suspect's vehicle was the same one involved in a series of previous burglaries and had evaded police in an earlier attempt to detain the driver. He also said a search warrant was executed to search the contents of the vehicle after the shooting, but he did not disclose the findings by citing the ongoing nature of the investigation.

At his earlier news conference on the night of the shooting, Manley acknowledged no weapon was found in the aftermath. The person who initially called to alert police reported having seen the man with a firearm, saying he had pointed it up in the air at one point.

The shooting has provoked anger among community activists, some of whom are now calling on Manley to resign as a result. Cell phone video of the scene captured by bystanders living at the apartment complex loudly pleading with police not to shoot the man before he was killed.

Members of the Austin Justice Coalition are among those condemning the killing. The group held a virtual news conference on Monday afternoon demanding justice and was joined by members of other organizations and community activists to outline "...steps that need to be taken and will be taken moving forward to ensure the safety and well-being of black, brown, and communities of color in Austin, Texas."

Austin Mayor Steve Adler added his voice in objecting with the way officers handled the encounter: "I’m very disturbed by the spectator’s video I’ve now seen on which Mike Ramos does not appear to threaten but ends up dead," the mayor wrote in a prepared statement on Monday. "There’s got to be a better way. The use of force is the most most potent and irreversible of a police officer’s tools and requires trust between officers and the communities they protect."

While the mayor acknowledged much is still unknown in the unfolding investigation, he expressed empathy to community members decrying the death of a person of color in the latest officer-involved shooting involving Austin police: "We may not yet know all the facts and we need to before we pass final judgment, but we know what we see, people are hurting, and there are many questions," Adler said. "We must respond to this moment and also to the fear, anxiety and lack of confidence expressed by communities of color."

The mayor said he has directed the city manager to analyze the shooting and what led up to the violent confrontation toward sharing the findings with members of the public: "I have told the Manager we need a quick and complete assessment of this shooting and then an immediate sharing of all relevant information with the community," Adler said. "This incident happens against the backdrop of investigations and assessments of the department that must also be full, transparent, concluded and reported."

In a separate statement, District Attorney Margaret Moore said she and Dexter Gilford, the director of the Civil Rights Unit responded to the scene after which the Austin Police Department gave them an immediate and full accounting of the information that developed subsequent to the shooting. Moore said the District Attorney’s Office is granted unrestricted access to all aspects of the investigation as it is conducted by the Special Investigations Unit of APD in accordance with the Memorandum of Understanding between the DA’s Office and Austin Police Department.

The District Attorney said she agrees with Manley's decision to ask the Texas Rangers to assist in the investigation. The DA’s Office, Moore noted, has a memorandum of understanding with the Rangers governing these investigations that is similar to that with the Austin Police Department.

“I must emphasize that this is a criminal investigation to determine whether the officer’s conduct constitutes a prosecutable offense," Moore said. "Therefore, collection and preservation of evidence is critical, and every effort must be made to protect the integrity of the investigation. For example, we would not approve the release of certain facts before witnesses are interviewed.”

However, Moore said her office is strongly committed to maximum transparency to address community concerns. “I will approve Chief Manley’s release of body camera videos collected by police officers, as soon as is practicable. In this instance, I do not see how the release of these videos would compromise the investigation or any subsequent prosecution,” Moore said.

Moore added, “I assure the public that the Travis County District Attorney’s Office is deeply committed to a full and fair investigation, and we will take appropriate action as expeditiously as possible.”

The policies of the Civil Rights Unit with regard to investigating and prosecuting officer-involved shootings, are posted on the District Attorney’s website.