Texas Sheriff Slams Release of Video Showing Man With Arms Up Before Shooting
Gilbert Flores, 41, appeared to have his hands up when he was shot.
— -- A Texas sheriff’s office has criticized the release of witness video showing deputies fatally shooting a man who appears to have his hands in the air, which has prompted outrage and an investigation in Texas.
Gilbert Flores died Friday shortly after the shooting, which occurred when deputies responded to a domestic disturbance call.
A college student said he saw the San Antonio incident and started filming with his cellphone.
"He kind of just put his hands in the air. After he put his hands in the air, they shot him," student Michael Thomas told ABC affiliate KSAT-TV in San Antonio.
Thomas sold the footage to KSAT for $100, police say, and the station posted the unedited video on its website and used it on-air.
“As a result, people from outside our community have bombarded us with inappropriate comments, and today, physical threats toward our deputies,” the Bexar County Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post. “These deputies have not been charged with a crime and a family lost their loved one. This is unethical and sad.”
Meanwhile, Sheriff's Office spokesman James Keith has confirmed to ABC News that there is a second video of the shooting that was filmed by a neighbor. They said that it will not be released publicly because it is being considered as evidence.
In the footage obtained by KSAT, 41-year-old Flores is slightly blocked by a pole in the video but both of his arms appear to be raised when he was shot. The two deputies were identified by the Sheriff's Office in a statement as Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez, with the office reporting the deputies saying Flores was armed, but did not specify what kind of weapon he allegedly had, according to the Associated Press.
Vasquez and Sanchez are on paid administrative leave during the investigation, officials said.
Police say Flores injured a woman and an 18-month-old girl inside a home, prompting the domestic dispute call, and the deputies reportedly used non-lethal force weapons before the fatal shooting outside the home.
The Sheriff's Department is now criticizing the release of the video, posting a message on its Facebook profile about how the "sensational behavior" by KSAT has prompted "physical threats toward our deputies."
"Certainly, what's in the video is a cause for concern, but it's important to let the investigation go through its course so that we can assure a thorough and complete review of all that occurred," Sheriff Susan Pamerleau said at a news conference Friday.
The district attorney's office confirmed that it is investigating the case and will consider Thomas' footage.
"That gives us a whole different perspective that we've never had before," a spokesman for the district attorney's office told ABC News.
ABC News' Matt Gutman contributed to this report.