The city of Austin, Texas, is calling for the resignations of the officers involved in the fatal shooting of Mike Ramos.
Last week, officers cornered and shot unarmed Mike Ramos to death at a Southeast Austin apartment complex. A video of the incident emerged online and sent social media users into a frenzy. In the video, a witness showed Ramos with his hands in the air right before being shot. The executive director of the Austin Justice Coalition, Chas Moore, said the shooting is a direct attack on people of color.
“He was doing what I would call the universal sign of retreat,” said Moore. “He had his hands up, and after he was shot with a bean bag, he drove away, not towards the police, in what we would consider a flee for survival.” Police responded to a 911 call claiming someone was using drugs and wielding a gun in the apartment parking lot. The video shows Ramos falling into his car after getting shot with a bean bag.
In a Monday press conference, APD Police Chief Brian Manley said, “I’ve seen the video, and that’s why we are going to the extent, and we are investigating this.” The cop responsible for pulling the first trigger is Mitchell Piper. When Ramos attempted to drive away, he was met with more gunshots. This time, the shots came from Officer Christopher Taylor, who fired actual bullets from his rifle. But now, Moore wants all the police officers involved to resign, adding that people of color have continuously fallen during Manley’s reign as chief.
“We are asking for the resignation of Chief Brian Manley,” said Moore. “We do not feel he has passed any test as police chief, in his time.” The Austin Justice Coalition also wants APD Chief of Staff Troy Gay and Assistant City Manager Rey Arrellano to step down from their positions, as well.
Meanwhile, Mayor Adler said he was “very disturbed by the spectator’s video I’ve now seen on which Mike Ramos does not appear to threaten but ends up dead,” in a statement on his website. Later adding, “The use of force is the most potent and irreversible of a police officer’s tools and requires trust between officers and the communities they protect,” Adler said. “We may not yet know all the facts, and we need to before we pass final judgment, but we know what we see, people are hurting, and there are many questions.”
My statement on Friday's officer-involved shooting of Mike Ramos: https://t.co/7OD6yQCTd9
— Mayor Adler (@MayorAdler) April 27, 2020
