Officer kills man who refused to give up gun, chief says

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An Austin police officer shot and killed a man in North Austin on Friday morning after the man refused to put away the pistol he had used to kill a dog, Police Chief Art Acevedo said.

APD confirmed John Schaefer, 70, was killed during the incident.

Police were called to a house in the 10000 block of Lanshire Drive in North Austin on Friday around 7:30 a.m., the chief told reporters at the shooting scene.

Schaefer had called police saying he had just shot and killed a dog. Schaefer said the dog had attacked him. The dispatcher asked him to return to his home and let police take over once they arrived, Acevedo said. When the officer arrived, Schaefer had the semiautomatic pistol tucked into his waistband, the chief said.

When officer Jonathan Whitted arrived, he told Schaefer to give up the gun. Instead, he drew it on the officer, Acevedo said. Whitted then drew his gun and fired. The man was pronounced dead around 7:45 a.m., Acevedo said.

"When an officer tries to secure a weapon, you cannot draw and aim at an officer and not expect that officer to defend himself," Acevedo said.

Whitted is a three-year member of the Austin Police Department, Acevedo said. He will be placed on administrative leave, which is standard procedure.

A woman who calls herself Lena lives three houses down from where the shooting happened. She walked outside and witnessed the confrontation. 

The shooting will be investigated by the police department's internal affairs office, the Travis County District Attorney's Office and the Office of Police Monitor, Acevedo said. That, also, is routine.

"No one ever goes to work as police officers ever wanting to do this and in this case my officer is shaken up," said Acevedo. "Despite the fact that he was confronted by an armed subject that was threatening him."

The residential area was sealed off with crime scene tape. Several squad cars and the police command post truck were in the area.

Premier High School, which is about a half-mile from the area, was placed on immediate lockdown, officials said.