Im going to die today: Trial begins in controversial 2015 killing by Bexar deputies; man was holding his hands up – San Antonio Express-News

SAN ANTONIO A federal trial is scheduled to start today in a controversial 2015 case in which two Bexar County sheriffs deputies fatally shot a domestic violence suspect who raised his hands in apparent surrender.

The shooting came near the end of a 12-minute encounter with varying angles captured by witnesses videos.

Deputies Robert Sanchez and Greg Vasquez shot Gilbert Flores on Aug. 28, 2015, outside his parents home in north Bexar County, arguing that he still had a knife in his hand. They had been called to the home by his mother, who told dispatchers that Flores had assaulted his wife and their infant daughter, that there was blood everywhere, that he had a knife and was acting crazy. Flores, 41, is heard on the 911 tape saying he planned to commit suicide by cop.

U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in 2017 dismissed Bexar County from the lawsuit filed by Flores family, but he determined Deputies Sanchez and Vasquez should stand a civil trial. The deputies appealed, but their arguments to toss the case failed.

Today a jury is scheduled to be picked for the trial before Senior U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth.

A witness cellphone video of the shooting was first broadcast by a local TV station the day of the incident and went viral. A second one recorded by a neighbor from a closer angle emerged months later. The trial could include both recordings, testimony about the whole encounter, and what led to deputies being called to the home of Flores parents in the 24000 block of Walnut Pass, near Scenic Loop Road.

The familys lawyers, with the Thomas J. Henry law firm, and the deputies attorney, Charles Frigerio, filed trial briefs last week arguing what should, and should not, be put in front of jurors.

In the appelate file, justices noted that during the time his family called police, Flores can be heard on a 911 call saying: I got a knife and Im going to suicide by cop, so bring a SWAT team, or uh uh uh or whoever is going to be ready to pull the trigger because Im going to die today.

The familys lawyers argue the deputies unreasonably used deadly force in violation of Flores constitutional rights. They argue that one deputy turned to the other in a sign that they would not let the incident drag on and that they were going to follow a supervisors commands to do whatever you have to do.

The deputies agreed on ending this and opened fire, one after the other, just as Flores who earlier had tried to stab them, took away a police Taser, and came close to getting a deputys AR-15 rifle had seemed to stop his erratic behavior and raised his hands above his head in what appeared to be surrender, the family lawyers filings said.

In the deputies filings, Frigerio said the totality of the circumstances have to be taken into account, not just the final moments. Throughout the confrontation, Flores kept yelling and taunting the deputies to shoot him because he did not want to go back to prison, and at times used the knife to stab at deputies.

Frigerio argues that nonlethal attempts to de-escalate the situation were unsuccessful. He argues the deputies used lethal force after being instructed by supervisors to keep Flores from getting back into the house, where he could further assault family members, and to prevent him from taking a patrol car or grabbing the AR-15 after he opened the vehicle door once.

Court documents said the videos showed Flores in the driveway, about 30 feet away from the deputies with his arms in the air. Frigerio argues Flores still had the knife in one hand and posed a threat.

In October 2017, Judge Pitman dismissed the county from the case, but found there are factual disputes that need to be decided by a jury to determine whether the deputies are shielded by a long-standing legal principle called qualified immunity.

While agreeing with the deputies that their conduct should be judged based on the circumstances, Pitman saw a big problem with the final actions they took shooting Flores when he did not appear to be an imminent threat.

Based on the circumstances facing Vasquez and Sanchez right before they shot Flores and construing the facts in favor of plaintiffs, the court finds that a reasonable officer would have concluded that Flores, who was stationary for several seconds and put his hands in the air while remaining otherwise motionless, was no longer resisting and had signaled surrender, Pitman wrote. Therefore, the deputies use of deadly force was not reasonable.

The deputies appealed to the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans. That court agreed with Pitmans determination that a jury needs to hash out the dispute and dismissed the appeal.

Flores had a knife, not a gun; was several feet away from the officers, the house, and the vehicle; had his hands in the air in a surrender position; and stood stationary in the officers line of sight, the 5th Circuit wrote. Under these facts taken in the light most favorable to Plaintiffs, we conclude that the district court correctly identified material factual disputes as to whether the officers violated Floress Fourth Amendment rights.

The deputies filed a petition for the U.S. Supreme Court to review the case, and several police and municipal organizations filed a brief supporting their request.

Records show the Supreme Court, without comment, denied the petition in March 2021.

In December 2015, a Bexar County grand jury declined to indict the deputies on criminal charges. Bexar County officials have said that the countys insurer may have to pay if the deputies lose and the jury assesses damages.

guillermo.contreras@express-news.net | Twitter: @gmaninfedland

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Im going to die today: Trial begins in controversial 2015 killing by Bexar deputies; man was holding his hands up - San Antonio Express-News