2 April 2024 Steven Zimmerman, Reporter
“In our commitment to transparency and community engagement, the El Paso Police Department is releasing this critical incident community brief concerning an officer-involved shooting that occurred on March 5, 2024. This video is intended to provide our community with context and preliminary information surrounding the events of that day. Please note that the content presented is preliminary and not indicative of the final findings regarding the incident,” says El Paso Police Department PIO Robert Gomez.
However, Estrada’s mother told KFOX she doesn’t believe that the department intended to release the video to be transparent.
“I felt like they lied to me cause they told me there was an altercation when they went to my house and told me that my son was killed because there was an altercation, there was no altercation, the cop didn’t even give him a chance.”
The El Paso Police Department, to be proactive and transparent, released body cam footage of the fatal shooting of Michael Anthony Estrada by Sergeant Smith. The incident in the above video occurred on 5 March 2024 in West El Paso.
Over the last few days, several officers with the El Paso Police Department have contacted us with concerns over the shooting, the way the investigation was handled, and the “Critical Incident Community Brief” the department produced and uploaded to YouTube on 23 March 2024.
“There is too much wrong with this encounter,” says an El Paso Police Officer, on condition of anonymity. “Why did Smith discharge his sidearm? Why was the suspect shot? Why wasn’t backup called?”
Another officer says this may have been a consensual encounter. “I think Smith was wanting this guy to just give him his ID, and then look for a crime, or something suspicious.”
A pair of EPPD officers explained that if they pull up to someone and ask how they are doing if that person tells them to go to hell, the officers can do nothing as the encounter is not incident to a crime or suspicion of a crime. Was that what Smith was hoping for here, a consensual encounter?
Sgt. Smith decided to contact Estrada. According to the female officer in the above video, “The patrol supervisor continued to tell Estrada to show him his hands to which the suspect did not comply. He continued making threats toward the patrol supervisor and was subsequently shot by the officer.”
“What stands out to me, what is key to me in the report PD put on YouTube,” says C.J. Chandler, a longtime law enforcement officer in Texas, “is that in her narrative in that video, she doesn’t say that suspect had a gun. She makes it sound like the suspect made them threats and references to having a firearm, and the officer just decided to shoot.”
“Why did this cop allow this man to keep rummaging though his car,” asks Randall French, Military Police, United States Army (Retired). “Also, why did the officer park where he did, not providing himself a point of retreat and cover if the need arises?”
Many in law enforcement seem to have questions about this encounter. There are many “what-ifs,” and second-guessing could be dangerous. We weren’t there with the officer, but his body cam was, and EPPD released it.
Anthony Coca, Michael’s brother, told KFOX in El Paso, Texas, that he believes officers need to be better trained in handling people who have mental illness.
“Mental health is serious, and they need to not make mental health a joke because it’s a very serious thing,” Coca said.
How the El Paso Police Department handles individuals in mental distress was partly the focus of two articles published by the Jerusalem Press. The El Paso Police Department, time and again, fails when it comes to handling mental health issues.
In To Save a Life: An EPPD Officer Puts His Life on the Line, we share a video of a Patrol Supervisor putting his life on the line to save a person in mental distress. The officer in the video is not on the Critical Incident Team; the officers alleged to have undergone training to help those in mental distress.
In A New Inquisition, we point out how the EPPD officer who should have been engaging the suspect, who had a gun to his head, was hiding in the bushes.
In the above articles, Officer Perez, who should have led all interactions, stayed in the background.
There are more questions even after the shooting.
“He seemed far too calm when on the radio. Why?” asked several people we spoke to about this event.
“The guy hits the brake, so he has life but no urgency to render aid. Why?” asked one EPPD Officer we spoke with.
“Smith, he’s showing no urgency after the shooting, yet he shows urgency before the shooting. And why didn’t he render aid after the shooting,” asks Randall French. “Why did he back up all the way to the dumpster for cover instead of his police cruiser?”
“They got him in custody, but FMS declared him dead,” says another EPPD Officer. “How does that make sense?”
Three other officers who reached out to us feel that Sgt. Smith may have seen this to restore a bit of honor and receive a pat on the back for a job well done.
“There is a history with Smith,” says a detective with EPPD. “He was the focus of a mental health breakdown in 2016, I think it was.”
“SWAT was called on Smith,” says another Officer. “He was threatening to harm fellow officers. He was taken in on an EDO (Emergency Detention Order) because of what happened.”
A third officer said he doesn’t believe Smith should be on the force. “We bleed people. They get on the force here, then move someplace else. I wouldn’t trust Smit to have my back. He should have been relieved of duty years ago.”
There are too many questions and not enough answers.
About releasing the video, Gomez says, “What it is, it’s a balance between investigations and the community understanding what happens when these incidents occur,”
Yet, when Sgt John Chavez was arrested for two DWIs, the department decided transparency was not in the public’s best interest. However, when an officer saves a life, he’s vilified. When an officer takes a life under questionable circumstances, he is called a hero. It’s a sad state of affairs within the El Paso Police Department.
The El Paso Police Department has a problem understanding the definition of transparency.
Coming soon, an article on an officer failing to follow orders, and dereliction of duty was promoted.
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2 COMMENTS
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You are a piece of shit. You can see the gun in the video. We don’t shoot unless there is a treat to life.
Why did he kill the guy in the car? This is why I am scared if they come to stop me or come to my house. The cops in this town are bad.