Bodycam video shows moments before Austin officer fatally shot man stabbing woman
Police body-worn camera footage released Monday shows two Austin officers attempting to force their way into a North Austin apartment before one officer shot a man who was attacking a woman last month.
Officer Cody Schulz shot 48-year-old Ensel Maclare-Urgelles on May 27 after he and officer Alexis Cruz entered the apartment. Though Cruz did not shoot at Maclare-Urgelles, the Police Department said it released the footage from his body camera because it provided a "clearer visual" of the incident.
Police arrived at the complex after a 911 caller reported an ongoing domestic violence situation between Maclare-Urgelles and an unidentified woman around 1:30 a.m. The caller reported hearing arguing, glass shattering and things being thrown for about 10 minutes, a police news release said. Another 911 caller reported hearing a woman screaming for help and a man yelling. That caller said the violence moved onto the apartment patio and then back inside the residence. The officers' body cameras recorded muffled shouting as they approached the apartment.
Bodycam footage shows Cruz and Schulz making their way to the apartment about 1:48 a.m. Upon arriving, the officers knocked and announced their presence in English and Spanish but did not receive a response. Cruz and Schulz took turns kicking the door, the video recording shows.
The footage cuts out before their forced entry into the apartment. Citing Texas law, the Police Department said it did not release footage of the shooting because it was taken in a private space.
When Cruz and Schulz opened the door about 1:49 a.m., they saw another closed door and forced entry, the news release said. Once inside another room in the apartment, they saw Maclare-Urgelles “actively stabbing” an unidentified woman.
Schulz fired his weapon at Maclare-Urgelles to save the woman’s life, the news release said. Police then began lifesaving aid and removed the woman from the residence.
About 1:54 a.m., Austin-Travis County Emergency Medical Services medics arrived and treated Maclare-Urgelles and the female victim, who had suffered multiple stab wounds.
They were taken to hospitals with life-threatening injuries. The woman has been released from the hospital. Maclare-Urgelles was pronounced dead there at 3:05 a.m. the same day.
He was the only person to sustain gunshot wounds. No bystanders or police officers were injured during the shooting, the release said.
Per Police Department protocol, Schulz is on administrative leave. The Police Department will conduct two investigations into the shooting: the special investigations unit and Travis County district attorney's office will handle the criminal inquiry, and the internal affairs unit and office of police oversight will examine police conduct.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bodycam video shows moments before Austin police officer shot attacker
