When an unarmed and handcuffed man, an amateur El Paso bodybuilder named Daniel Saenz was shot dead by El Paso Police Department officer Jose Flores on March 8, 2013 it was the third fatal law enforcement shooting in the city in less three months and the second deadly shooting by an officer of the law in a week.
A grand jury cleared Flores of wrongdoing in the death of Saenz, but now the Texas Attorney's Office, has forced the El Paso PD to release security video following a freedom of information request from the El Paso Times. The 43 minute-long video shows us what happened that day, and it is not for the faint-hearted.
Saenz, 37, had been arrested earlier that day for assaulting an off-duty police officer at a local medical center where, according to reports, he had been behaving erratically.
He was being moved from the city's Downtown jail to hospital after, according to police, slamming head own head into a doorway causing injury. It was during this botched transfer that his life was ended.
In the video, officer Flores and an unnamed prisoner transport guard are shown dragging a passive Saenz outside and appearing to talk to him.
Saenz is seen to struggle as the men pull him to his feet. He falls to the ground and the two men try to keep him there as he resists with great strength. Saenz can clearly be seen smashing his head against the ground as the guard trying to prevent him from doing so.
Jim Jopling, a lawyer with the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) said Flores and the guard were concerned Saenz would try to move his cuffed hands to the front of his body as he had done several times earlier with surprising ease, according to CLEAT. It was also stated that Saenza was Tasered five times earlier in the day to no effect.
On the ground Saenz struggles explosively, pushing off the curb and forcing the guard backward. Flores draws his weapon and fires a single round, hitting him in the back, under his shoulder. Both officer
