Father: The shooting was "negligent"

AUSTIN (KXAN) - A disturbance at the scene of a police-involved shooting on Monday has calmed, but officials are now having to answer tough questions about whether they correctly handled the incident.

Nathaniel Sanders was killed and another man injured around 5 a.m. during an altercation with police on Springdale Road on the city's East Side. Police woke up Sanders and saw him go for a gun, officials say, so an officer shot him. Police later identified him as a suspect they'd arrested last week in connection with an ATM robbery.

Sr. Officer Leonardo Quintana, who has been an APD officer for eight-and-a-half years, is on administrative leave pending an internal investigation. Quintana was not injured in the shooting.

In the hours that followed the shooting, police in riot gear tried to calm down nearly 200 people who were angry and smashing windows. Eight police cars were damaged, and at least one man was arrested.

The shooting victim's brother, Jecovi Taylor, said his brother's girlfriend called him at 4:30 a.m. Monday to notify him that his brother had been killed.

"They're not protecting to serve," said an angry Taylor. "They're killing all of us."

Police Chief Art Acevedo said officers have dashcam video, as well as audio tapes, of the shooting, which had three cars on the scene. Only one officer did the shooting, Acevedo said. Police recovered a gun from the seat of the car, he said.

He added that his department is reviewing "everything from appropriateness of shooting to tactics, and everything from beginning to end."

"Based on what I know standing here, today, I am confident in the legality," Acevedo said during a 2 p.m. news conference. "I'm not going to discuss the tactics or anything else because this is all part of the investigation, and I'm not going to discuss anything that specific." 

Asked about whether a Taser should have been used instead, as some neighbors say, Acevedo said that when a gun is pointed at an officer or a suspect is "grabbing a gun," police are trained to "use deadly force with deadly force."

But residents who were grieving and protesting at the scene this morning are skeptical, saying police jumped the gun.

"They need to protect," said Gloria Jean Smith, who was at the scene protesting Monday morning. "They use their uniform to threaten people by."

Meanwhile, people argue police should have resorted to using a Taser instead of killing Nathaniel Sanders, 18.

"We have one officer over there that's so cocked up ready to shoot somebody," said Smith. "We don't know what to do, so I just stretch my arms and tell them to go right ahead."

The father of the teenager killed by the police officer called his son's death an "injustice." Nathaniel Sanders, Sr. said the officer's actions were "negligent."

Sanders Sr. said his son was out visiting his girlfriend that night.

Austin police said two robbery suspects were shot around 5 a.m. Monday during a suspicious-car report in East Austin at the Walnut Creek Apartments, just south of Manor Road on Springdale Road.

Acevedo said the vehicle had been described by neighbors as one that had been involved in area shootings. Police were seeking to question the inhabitants, who witnesses had said was shooting their guns out the windows, he said.

Acevedo said three men were inside the vehicle, two in the front and one in the back. Police detained the driver for questioning without incident.

However, police said when they tried to wake up one of the two passengers, who was Nathaniel Sanders, Sanders reached for a gun. At that point, Acevedo said the officer, "fearing for life, drew the service pistol and fired several rounds."

Acevedo said those gunshots woke up the third passenger, who got out of the vehicle and charged towards officers. Officers shot the third passenger, who was transported to Brackenridge Hospital. Police said he is in stable condition and talking to officers.

Yolanda Shelby was also at the Walnut Creek Apartments protesting, saying she is upset another young man lost his life at the hands of APD officers.

"It's just been too many," said Shelby. "It's with Sophia King. It's with Jesse Owens. It was Daniel Rocha. It was Kevin Brown. Here we go with Mr. Nathaniel Sanders. It's enough, and they are just killing them. They are all young."

At least one arrest was made during the disturbance. The entire area on Springdale Road near Manor Road was shut down.

"The frustrating part, appropriately, is that there is not a lot of information that is released," said Mayor Will Wynn in an afternoon news conference. "Everybody can be frustrated by that lack of information, but it is to protect the integrity of investigation."

Wynn said local officials "have been and will be in conversation with members of that community. Know that that dialogue will continue."

Acevedo said he had spoken with the victim's father, who the chief described as "a man that showed tremendous courage, tremendous restraint. The community needs to respect that