Questions persist after shooting of jail inmate at Kyle hospital. Here's what we know
Nearly a week after a corrections officer fatally shot a jail inmate who authorities believe was trying to escape from a Kyle emergency room, the community continues to push for answers regarding whether or not the killing was justified.
Hays County's top elected official this week urged local law enforcement to provide swift answers to the public after 36-year-old Joshua Leon Wright was fatally shot at Ascension Seton Hays in Kyle. The initial statement from authorities provided few details but did allege that Wright first assaulted the officer and then began running through the emergency room where he was receiving medical treatment.
The corrections officer then shot Wright, but authorities did not say in their statement whether he was armed or how he posed a threat to others in the hospital.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra on Wednesday requested for the Hays County sheriff's office to release all relevant body-camera footage by Dec. 22. Austin police, under its own policy, tries to provide such footage within 10 business days after lethal force is used — but it is not a practice commonly followed by neighboring jurisdictions like Hays County.
Becerra's request came after Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Association of Texas (CLEAT), said in a tweet on Monday night that Wright had grabbed sharp medical instruments and began running toward hospital staff and civilians when the officer shot him. He then deleted his tweet on Tuesday, retweeting a nearly identical statement but changing "grabbed" to "moved toward."
"There are reports circulating that have not yet been answered by the sheriff’s office — that the pretrial detainee who was shot had his feet shackled; that he was shot in the back, multiple times; that a Taser was available but not used — and so I am asking for further clarity," Becerra said.
Ascension Seton has not commented on the incident or what kind of security is in place at the hospital. This is the second major incident in recent months in which law enforcement has been called to a Central Texas hospital. On Sept. 30, Ascension Seton Northwest Hospital in North Austin was put on lockdown after a report of shots fired at the hospital there. No credible threat was found.
Wright was a pre-trial detainee in Hays County Jail, meaning that he was charged with crimes but had not received his day in court. He was accused of unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, bail jumping, fail to appear, reckless driving, criminal mischief, and evading arrest and detention, according to the sheriff's office.
Texas Rangers, the investigative arm of the Texas Department of Public Safety who often are called in when local law enforcement report in-custody deaths, are looking into this incident. The officer who shot the inmate was placed on administrative leave until the investigation into the shooting is complete. He has not yet been publicly identified by the sheriff's office.
State investigations of in-custody deaths have drawn skepticism recently. A New York Times article last year about the Texas Rangers looked into 29 cases since 2015 in which a person stopped breathing after a tussle with local authorities. None of those cases led prosecutors to charge anyone within law enforcement. Furthermore, shortcuts, missteps or judgment calls that could point toward a mishandling of the case occurred in two-thirds of the cases, according to the article.
Anyone with more information about this case can call Detective Travis Terreo with the Hays County sheriff’s office at 512-393-7896, or email travis.terreo@co.hays.tx.us. The case number for the shooting is HCSO 2022-67679.
Information can also be sent to Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 1-800-324-8466.
Statesman reporter Nicole Villalpando contributed to this article.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Hays Co. officer shoots and kills escaped prisoner at Kyle hospital
