A Texas grand jury charged a police officer with a felony over his 2022 fatal shooting of a tech entrepreneur, officials said Wednesday, in case that’s divided Austin’s law enforcement community.
Austin Police Department Officer Daniel Sanchez has been charged with one count of deadly conduct, a third-degree felony, in connection with the Nov. 15, 2022, shooting death of Rajan “Raj” Moonesinghe, Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced.
“The District Attorney’s office takes the work of presenting all facts and evidence to a grand jury very seriously,” Garza said in a statement. “In this case, an independent group of members of the Travis County community heard the evidence and law and decided that Officer Sanchez’s conduct was unlawful.”
On the night of the shooting, Austin police were responding to a 911 call saying a man in a gray robe was pointing a rifle down the street and firing it into his own home.
As officers arrived, Moonesinghe was shot almost simultaneously with police orders for him to to drop the gun, his family has claimed.
Loved ones of the 33-year-old victim said he had just returned from a trip and feared his home had been burglarized.
“He did nothing wrong,” Johann Moonesinghe, his brother, previously told NBC News. “He had a gun … he was defending his house and he didn’t point the gun. He was not menacing. He didn’t look like he was going to shoot anyone.”
The Austin Police Department is defending Sanchez and said his actions were “consistent with his training” against a deadly threat.
“Officer Sanchez was confronted with a subject who fired a rifle indiscriminately in a densely populated neighborhood,” according to a department statement. “Officer Sanchez responded to that threat consistent with his training. APD will continue to support Officer Sanchez as this process moves forward.”
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
