Man Killed, Woman Hurt In Confrontation With Austin Police

AUSTIN, TX — A man was killed and a woman has life-threatening injuries after a police shooting in South Austin early Tuesday morning.

The incident happened along the 2500 block of Wickersham Lane just after 12:30 a.m., according to police. In a subsequent news conference, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley confirmed two officers were involved in the shooting. A child in the backseat of the car was unarmed, according to police.

Just before 12:35 a.m., police received a call from an off-duty Austin Police Department officer who said he had been involved in a shooting incident, according to the police account. According to the off-duty officer, he was driving in a neighborhood before turning southbound onto the 2500 block of Wickersham Lane when he noticed there was a car behind him, according to a police advisory.

The car cut the officer off before pulling up alongside the off-duty officer's vehicle, police said, when the officer said he saw the driver point a gun at him. The officer then fired at the suspect, according to a police advisory, and the vehicle continued to travel a short distance southbound on Wickersham Lane where it finally stopped against the curb. The officer then stopped behind the suspect's vehicle before calling 9-1-1 to advise of the situation, according to the Austin Police Department. .

At 12:37 a.m., on-duty officers began arriving to the scene, police said, with this portion of the confrontation captured on body worn camera — unlike the initial interaction not captured on body cam as the original officer was not on duty at the time. Footage from other officers' body cameras shows the suspect vehicle stopped along the curb with the off-duty officer's personal vehicle behind the suspect vehicle, according to a police advisory.

A woman can be seen lying on the ground just outside the passenger side of the vehicle, police added, and the off-duty officer can be heard shouting commands to the driver and as backup approached. At this point, police noted, the driver had exited his vehicle and walked around the rear of the car towards the passenger's side. According to police, the driver then opened what appeared to be the back passenger's side door of the vehicle, prompting an on-duty officer to open fire. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, police said.

The woman who had been the passenger seat sustained life-threatening injuries, and police said she was transported to the hospital where she is reportedly in stable condition. An infant who was in the backseat at the time of the incident was unharmed, according to police.

Police said both officers who fired their weapons have since been placed on administrative leave per normal police protocol pending the outcome of the investigation. Police confirmed the off-duty officer has been with the local police force for five years while the officer who was on duty at the time has been a member of the force for two years. Police did not identify the officers involved or the dead driver.

As police continue their investigation, they urged anyone with cell phone or surveillance camera footage capturing the incident to contact them. Those with information about this incident is asked to call Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-TIPS, or use the new Crime Stoppers App. Tips also can be submitted by downloading the police department's mobile app, Austin PD, for free on iPhone and Android.

Television station KVUE uploaded a video of the incident to YouTube that was shot from a nearby balcony. Viewers are warned the images on the video are disturbing. In the video, an officer can be heard repeatedly telling the driver not to reach into his vehicle while commanding him to stop, shouting his orders intermittently in Spanish.

Related story: Man Shot In Leg By Austin Police Amid SWAT Standoff

This is the second time in two days that a civilian has been shot by a police officer in Austin. Early Monday, a suspect was shot in the leg as he reportedly charged at police following a SWAT standoff, police said. The incident occurred at the Springhill Suites, 12520 North Interstate 35, after Austin police were contacted by their Round Rock counterparts on the whereabouts of a man wanted for aggravated robbery in Williamson County, police wrote in an advisory.

Austin police originally arrived at the hotel at 9:50 p.m. to discover the suspect — identified as 23-year-old Dylan Michael Polinski — was not there. Police returned to the scene early Monday morning just past 3:45 a.m. after receiving a tip the wanted man was at the scene, according to the police account. Polinski barricaded himself in the hotel room with a woman who appeared to be held against her will, police said. The man later was shot in the leg after exiting the hotel room.