1 year later: Less crime, more mistrust

AUSTIN (KXAN) - It has been one year since Nathaniel Sanders, Jr., was shot to death by an Austin police officer. While today’s memorial for Sanders was peaceful, there is just as much tension over the incident today as there was on the day Sanders died.

At that time, angry neighbors took to the street throwing rocks and bottles at police in rage over a shooting they said was unjustified - and today, those rocks and bottles have given way to lawsuits and harsh words. But the anger and mistrust of police remains - even as residents acknowledge that crime appears to have decreased.

"Whenever people come over here, the cops have a preconceived idea of what to expect, so I think it has gotten worse," said Milton Haynes, a resident at the Walnut Creek Apartments, where the May 2009 shooting took place. "They are expecting hostility, so they come over with some."

Officer Leo Quintana, who fired the fatal shots, was cleared by a grand jury of any wrong doing - but suspended by APD for failing to turn on his dash camera. Nathaniel Sanders Jr.'s family has filed a federal civil suit against the city of Austin and Quintana, which is set for a civil trial in July.

Quintana was fired from the force last after getting a DWI that was unrelated to the case.

The shooting led to a memorial inside the Walnut Creek Apartments and had an impact on those who live here.

When we asked apartment resident Dameetrya Easley if she thought apartment residents distrusted Austin police more since the shooting, she said, “most definitely.”

All the while, concerns mount that Austin City Manager Marc Ott and the Travis County DA's office should have read and responded to a full report by Keypoint Solutions - an independent firm hired by the city to investigate the shooting - instead of settling for redacted one that hid harsh criticisms of Quintana and the department's policy on use of force.

The U.S. Department of Justice is also looking into the city's management of the officer-involved shooting.

"If they aren’t doing their job, guess what? If it goes to the police department and police monitor’s office, that’s not where it should be,” said Nelson Linder, Austin NAACP President. “It should be in the county court system with the DA doing their job, which is doing comprehensive investigations."

However, neighbors said they feel crime in the apartment complex police had previously called a hot bed is actually down.

"There's a lot of heat over here,” said Haynes. “A lot of the hardheads have dispersed. A lot of the problems were coming from visitors."

APD's most recent reports on crime within 500 feet of the complex seem to prove those feelings. The month before the shooting, there were 34 police reports taken. Compare that to 20 last month.

Still, with police mistrust an ongoing issue in the area of the shooting, police said numbers can be misleading.

"Either not that much stuff is occurring at the apartment complex, or people living there aren't calling it in,” said Senior Austin police Officer Veneza Aguinaga.

That is why police and community groups like the NAACP say continuing community outreach efforts by law enforcement are essential.

"There is a history about police issues that goes back about 10 years in this city," said Linder.