The original content of Democracy Now! Headlines appears under the Creative
Commons BY-NC-ND 3.0 License (United States). For more, including their other
shows and media, visit www.democracynow.org.
May 19, 2015

Video: No Indictment for Texas Cop Who Killed Unarmed Mexican Man 
------------------------------------------------------------------


 
A grand jury in Texas has declined to indict a Grapevine police officer
for fatally shooting an unarmed Mexican man on the side of the highway
during a traffic stop in February. On Monday, police released dashboard
camera video showing Rubén García Villalpando, a father of four,
obeying Officer Robert Clark's instructions to keep his hands in the
air, as Clark holds him at gunpoint and screams profanity at him.
García wanders toward the officer with his hands still on top of his
head and disappears from the frame, just seconds before Clark opens
fire. Grapevine police released a version of the footage narrated by
Police Chief Eddie Salame, who attempts to justify the shooting.

Eddie Salame: "We've also heard suggestions that Mr. Villalpando was not
a threat because at times his hands are raised. But it would only take
seconds for him to change the position of his hands if he comes close
enough to attack the officer. Between the time Mr. Villalpando begins
walking toward Officer Clark and the time Officer Clark utilizes deadly
force, Mr. Villalpando had been told more than 20 times to stop
approaching the officer. Officer Clark does not fire his weapon until
Mr. Villalpando is close enough that he could physically attack him or
try to obtain his weapon."

But police have never claimed García Villalpando reached for Officer
Clark's weapon or attacked him. An autopsy showed García was drunk. He
did not have a gun. García was one of three unarmed Mexican citizens
killed by police in the United States over a period of less than a
month.

 

.