But it has since drawn increased scrutiny from local activists and reporters after George Floyd’s killing in Minneapolis last month sparked nationwide protests and calls for sweeping police reforms. Nicolas’ death attracted no national media attention while many states were in COVID-19 lockdowns. The five officers who shot at Nicolas over the course of a 15-minute encounter with him remain on staff with the Houston Police Department pending the outcome of internal and external investigations. He wasn’t a threat to anybody at that point.”
“That’s what they did, and that’s the part I don’t understand. “They just mowed him down like a dog,” Chavez said Monday, standing at the site of his son’s killing nearly two months later. Then, suddenly, a flurry of gunshots ring out. Having already been shot at least once at that point, according to police, Nicolas appears to grab something near his chest, possibly the probe of one of the stun guns that officers had fired at him. The video shows his son on his knees, with several officers standing around him, guns drawn. He dropped out of his chair as he watched the 47-second clip. It appeared to show something different than what police had described, Chavez said. Instead, Chavez, 51, was learning the gruesome details from the cellphone video, filmed by a resident from across the street and later posted to YouTube. “Fearing for their lives,” the statement said, repeating a phrase used often by police to justify deadly force, “officers discharged their duty weapons.”Īlthough these moments were captured on dozens of body cameras worn by officers who responded to the scene, those videos were not shared with the public.
After officers arrived that night they said Nicolas, a father of three, repeatedly charged at them, and at one point, got hold of one of their stun guns. They had reported that his son, Nicolas, 27, who had a history of mental illness and drug addiction, had been darting in and out of traffic and holding a sharp piece of rebar, possibly trying to kill himself. Up until that moment, he only knew what police had said in their official statement. The grieving father sat down on his patio, and hit play. This article was published in partnership with NBC News.
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