Yesterday afternoon, SAPD opened fire on 28 year old Kevin Johnson in broad daylight allegedly striking him nine times in the back. ACT 4 SA is extending their sincerest condolences to Kevin’s family and offer our support in any way we can. We are ready to mobilize.
Kevin was running from officers chasing him for outstanding warrants when three separate SAPD officers in pursuit opened fire, excessively striking him nine times. No matter what the circumstances are, no person deserves to be murdered by firing squad when they are running in fear of their life.
This also raises questions of why SAPD chose to shoot an allegedly armed Black man nine times in the back, when just two days before, Bexar County deputies were able to arrest a white man who was not only armed, but dressed in full tactical armor while stealing a vehicle, after only tasing him. He was reaching into his pocket when he was tased.
SAPD’s “Us vs. Them” mentality crosses the boundaries of excessive policing. We are extremely disappointed to learn that they pepper sprayed mourners and family members of the victim including the victim’s mother who is currently battling breast cancer.
Yesterday’s response from the community makes it apparent that we are tired of excessive abuse coming from San Antonio law enforcement agencies.
Finally, this is a grim, blatant example of the need to reform SAPD body camera policy to release critical incident body camera footage sooner than 60 days. For context, the Austin Police Department has a 10-day policy and the same size police department as our own. Dallas, with the second largest police force in the state, has a 72-hour window.
The Johnson Family deserves to know what happened to Kevin. We are calling on Chief McManus to release the body cam footage within the next 72 hours for accountability and transparency to both Kevin’s family and the community.
