No Gun Found On Suspect Killed By Austin Police

AUSTIN, TX — Eighteen days after a fatal officer-involved shooting of a man said by a caller to have been holding a gun, the police chief said on Monday no firearm was found.

Austin Police Department Chief Brian Manley briefed reporters about the April 24 incident that culminated in the death of 42-year-old Michael Brent Ramos along the 2600 block of South Pleasant Valley Road. Video taken by a bystander shows Ramos putting his hands up while showing police his waistband to show he was unarmed before an officer fired a non-lethal, but painful, beanbag projectile.

Recoiling in pain, Ramos is then seen slumping into his car before slowly driving off. Another officer at the scene then opens fire with his service rifle at the vehicle, causing Ramos to crash the car before he was found dead. A woman who was with him inside the car subseqently was detained.

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Throughout the confrontation, bystanders watching the events unfold are heard on cell phone video pleading with officers not to open fire at the man they repeatedly told police was unarmed. Manley at the time said Ramos had failed to comply with officers's commands, and his vehicle matched one involved in an unspecified series of previous burglaries.

On Monday, Manley confirmed no gun was found either inside the vehicle or in its vicinity. A caller originally told police Ramos was ingesting drugs inside a car while brandishing a handgun. "The 9-1-1 caller did state repeatedly that a gun was involved in this incident," Manley said in response to a reporter's question.

Manley said an investigation into the case is ongoing, and the Texas Rangers have been asked to participate in the probe to ensure community confidence in a thorough process, the chief said. In that same spirit of transparency, Manley said he agrees with District Attorney Margaret Moore that video of the confrontation should be released to the public, but in a way that will not compromsie the integrity of the investigation.

The officers involved in the fatal shooting were previously identified as 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 as the one who fired his rifle as Ramos fled.