SAN ANTONIO – A man who police said was handcuffed in the back of a San Antonio patrol car shot himself in the head last week, raising questions about how he was able to access a gun while in custody and whether proper safety procedures were followed.
Authorities said 35-year-old Christopher Montalbo died from a gunshot wound to the head after he accessed his gun while handcuffed in the back of an SAPD patrol car.
San Antonio police said the incident began on March 19, when officers tried to pull over a vehicle along McCullough Avenue after noticing the tags did not match the vehicle.
Police said that after Montalbo pulled over, he ran but was quickly taken into custody, handcuffed, and placed in the back of the patrol car. Soon after, police said, he was able to get a gun and shoot himself in the back of the patrol car.
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SAPD Chief William McManus said that day, “He shot himself in the head, he was still cuffed, don’t know how it happened,” and said Montalbo was handcuffed behind his back and used his own gun.
Records indicated Montalbo had an extensive criminal history, with past charges ranging from auto theft to drug charges and ID fraud.
Former FBI agent Abel Pena questioned how a weapon could have been accessible after an arrest and search. “If this individual had a weapon, why was a weapon there? Did they not do a search? Or if they did conduct a search, usually there are two, and you do a secondary search to make sure that there are no weapons hidden,” Pena said.
Pena said any available video could be critical to investigators trying to determine what happened in the moments leading up to Montalbo’s death. “Any kind of footage external, either from surveillance cameras outside ring cameras, anything, if the unit had an internal, if there was a camera that they had in there, that’s going to be very helpful, and that’s what investigators are going to be looking at,” he said.
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Investigators are also expected to examine ballistics, trajectory, and gunshot residue as part of determining how Montalbo was able to shoot himself and whether proper procedures were followed.
Questions have been sent to SAPD, the Texas Department of Public Safety, and the Texas Rangers about search procedures, patrol protocols, and the timeline in the case, and a response is pending.