Video footage released Monday of the shooting of Mike Ramos shows the 42-year-old pleading with Austin police officers to put their guns down, telling them he doesn't have a weapon and that they are scaring him.
APD Officer Christopher Taylor shot and killed Ramos, who was Black and Hispanic, .
鈥淭he goal of this video release is to provide an informative and timely briefing on this critical incident, while maintaining the integrity of the case,鈥� Police Chief Brian Manley Monday to the mayor and council members. 鈥淭he Austin Police Department remains committed to transparency and will continue our work in building trust with the community we serve through information sharing.鈥�
Protesters in Austin have invoked Ramos鈥� name, as well as the names of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor, during demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism, and during council meetings where people have .
Under a new policy adopted by police in May, the department will release video and audio footage of serious injuries or killings within 60 days of an incident; that means video of the Ramos shooting should have been released in late June.
But City Manager Spencer Cronk then, saying APD did not follow procedure. According to the , the police department is required to consult the Office of Police Oversight during production of a video. The department did not do that before it prepared to release the video in June.
Manley told KUT earlier this month that was an 鈥渙versight.鈥�
The policy also allows 鈥渞elevant parties鈥� to view a video before it is released publicly. The city said Ramos鈥� family had been shown the video before its release was delayed.
鈥淭he City Manager has directed this video be withheld from public release until the Office of Police Oversight has had an opportunity to fully review the video and ensure that all requirements of the policy are appropriately met,鈥� the city said in a statement at the time.
The 16-minute video released Monday pieces together audio from a 911 call and footage from police dashboard and body cameras. A caller tells a 911 dispatcher that a man and woman are doing drugs in the apartment complex parking lot and she believes the man has a gun.
Footage from the cameras shows Ramos complying with requests to get out of the car and to lift his shirt and put his hands up.
An officer tells him to walk toward police, who are standing next to their cars, which are acting as a barricade to prevent his exit from the parking lot.
鈥淵ou鈥檙e going to get impacted if you don鈥檛 listen,鈥� an officer tells Ramos.
鈥淒on鈥檛 shoot, yo!鈥� Ramos shouts, staying near the car. 鈥淚 ain鈥檛 got no f------ gun, dog.鈥� APD confirmed in May Ramos was in when police killed him.
鈥淢an, you all scared the f--- out of me," he says.
Officer Mitchell Pieper then shoots Ramos with a lead-pellet-filled bag, which police consider a "less lethal" option. Austin police shot these bags at protesters during the first weekend of demonstrations in May, .
Ramos gets back into the car, and police yell at him to turn off the car.
鈥淢ichael, don鈥檛 do it!鈥� an officer shouts.
Ramos drives forward out of a parking spot before turning right, away from officers. Officer Taylor then shoots at the car three times, killing Ramos.
Lawyers for Ramos鈥� family first watched the video Friday.
鈥淭he first thing that stuck out to me is what I did not see and that was any justification for the shooting. That is glaringly absent from the video,鈥� Scott Hendler, a lawyer representing Ramos鈥� mother, said. 鈥淲hat鈥檚 clear is that there鈥檚 nothing Mike Ramos did to justify Officer Taylor opening fire and killing him.鈥�
APD has argued that Ramos ; department policy allows officers to shoot at a moving vehicle when they think it may be used to hurt other people or themselves.
鈥淸Officers] believed they were in danger and they believed Mr. Ramos was coming toward them,鈥� said Ken Ervin, one of the lawyers representing Taylor.
After losing her reelection earlier this month, Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore announced before she leaves office, despite saying she would bring it in August. The job will likely fall to the winner of the district attorney race in November.
This story has been updated.
Correction: An earlier version of this story omitted that some of the footage was collected from dashboard cameras.
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