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On June 3, 2022, 13-year-old Andre Hernandez was fatally shot by San Antonio police officer Stephen Ramos. An official statement after the shooting alleged that the officer shot Hernandez after the teen "rammed" a stolen red Toyota Corolla into the police cruiser, leading the officer to believe that the suspect posed a threat.
A newly released video obtained by the San Antonio Express-News showed the moment Andre Hernandez was shot dead by a police officer after the teen was stopped driving the stolen car alongside two teenagers who were not injured during the incident.
Authorities said that on June 3, 2022, two Texas officers - Stephen Ramos and Officer Espinoza - were responding to reports of gunfire in Southeast San Antonio, where they began chasing a red Toyota Corolla captured in the footage.
The video showed the car backing away from the police vehicle, blocking its passage shortly before officer Ramos was heard yelling at the other officer to not let the vehicle ram into the police cruiser.
The officer is then heard commanding the suspects in the vehicle to surrender before the red Corolla slowly bumps into the police vehicle. Ramos then vaults out of the patrol car and fires at Hernandez in the driver's seat. The clip captured the injured teen getting out of the car while telling the officer he was wounded and slowly falling to the ground.
Video showed the officer rendering aid to Andre Hernandez after he was shot
The newly released video showed officer Stephen Ramos rendering first aid to Andre Hernandez as soon as he was shot by a police officer. However, Hernandez, who was rushed to an area hospital, succumbed to his injuries, prompting a months-long investigation into the officer-involved shooting that led to the death of a teen.
On Thursday, February 16, 2023, Bexar County District Attorney Joe Gonzales announced that Officer Ramos will not face any charges in the fatal shooting of Andre Hernandez after a jury decided on the same based on an investigation led by the Civil Rights Division.
While the district attorney deemed the death of the teen a tragedy, he contended that the shooting was justified as the officer feared for his life at the time, adding that he was also unaware that Hernandez was a juvenile. As per the San Antonio Express-News, in a statement, the DA’s office said:
“It was reasonable for Officer Ramos to believe that Officer Espinoza was standing outside of his vehicle and was therefore being threatened with deadly force by the red Toyota as it accelerated towards him.”
They added:
“These facts led Officer Ramos to believe that Officer Espinoza was being threatened with deadly force."
However, Andre Hernandez’s family said that the shooting was unwarranted as the teen - who was caught on video merely bumping into the police vehicle - did not pose an adequate threat to the officer to open fire at the scene.
