Austin Police Release Video Showing Shooting Of Michael Ramos

AUSTIN, TX — The Austin Police Department on Monday released police video showing the fatal shooting of an unarmed man who died in South Austin in an officer-involved shooting in April.

The police footage shows the April 24 encounter police had with Michael Ramos after an unidentified caller to 911 told officials he was in a car ingesting drugs while wielding a firearm. A brief standoff ensued, during which Ramos, 42, put his hands up while showing officers his waistband devoid of a firearm.

One of the officers lodged a beanbag projectile at Ramos, prompting him to recoil in pain as he slumped back into his vehicle — as shown on cell phone video taken by bystanders that was later shared on social media. Bystanders pleaded with police officers not to shoot the man as heard on the social media footage, but another officer opened fire as Ramos drove away, killing him.

Eighteen days after the incident, Austin Police Chief Brian Manley acknowledged no gun was found on Ramos, in his vehicle or in the area of the incident. The newly released footage of the incident contains bodycam and dashcam video, some portions redacted to protect the integrity of the ongoing investigation as police noted. (Editor's Note: Some may find the contents of the video disturbing)

"The contents of this video include relevant audio and video footage from the preliminary investigation the department has conducted to this point," police wrote in an emailed advisory. "The Critical Incident Video is intended to provide viewers with additional information on what occurred based on what is currently known."

Audio of the call placed to police reporting Ramos also was included in the released materials. The caller insists Ramos is armed, suggesting the weapon was being pointed at a female compantion inside the vehicle. The caller also told police Ramos was "cooking meth" inside the vehicle among other accusations.

Previous coverage:

• Man Dies In South Austin Officer-Involved Shooting
• Cops In Fatal South Austin Shooting Identified
• No Gun Found On Suspect Killed By Austin Police
• Austin Officer-Involved Shooting Case Headed To Grand Jury
• Travis County DA Delays Action On Officer-Involved Shootings

In the video, Ramos is seen repeatedly asking officers why he was being confronted. Officers at the scene continued shouting commands, saying they would let him know the reason for their presence once he was detained. Ignoring officers' commands to walk towards them, Ramos insists on knowing the reason for the confrontation before being hit with an impact munition and later fired upon as he fled. The woman accompanying Ramos was seen exiting the car before Ramos sped away from the scene after the beanbag projectile stuck him.

Release of the video marks the first time police have issued such materials prior to the district attorney deciding to investigate. District Attorney Margaret Moore recently announced she would leave grand jury empaneling to her successor in November after losing a July 14 runoff election in her bid to retain the seat.

Moore's decision to empanel a grand jury to further investigate the Ramos shooting had been something of a departure for Moore, who — according to information requested by Patch prior to the election — had declined to pursue such probes involving officer-involved deaths 25 times since taking office in 2016. That record gained greater focus during the runoff election pitting her against runoff opponent José Garza of the Workers Defense Project, who made police reform a main plank of his political platform against a backdrop of civil unrest calling for greater law enforcement accountability.

Released at 11 a.m. on Monday, the video of the Ramos shooting is available on the Austin Police Department website as well as on the department's social media platforms, Facebook and Twitter.

Some parts of the video have been redacted, police noted: "In an effort to protect privacy rights and to avoid the release of information that state law prohibits the department from releasing, the materials have been edited or redacted as necessary. The redactions or edits do not affect the operative conduct of what occurred during this incident."

The shooting galvanized activists in Austin a month before the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, who died after an officer knelt on his neck for nearly nine minutes. As demonstrators continue to descend to downtown Austin in calling for police reform, both men's names often are invoked by protesters as examples of disproportionate police brutality against communities of color.