SAN ANTONIO \u2013 Neighbors say they had called police to a West Side neighborhood multiple times in the weeks before a man was fatally shot by five San Antonio police officers.<\/p>\n
The calls stemmed from concerns about the man\u2019s behavior, neighbors said. San Antonio Police Department Acting Chief Jesse Salame confirmed officers had been called to the area multiple times in the last month for similar situations. <\/p>\n
The 69-year-old man was waving a loaded handgun and did not comply with commands to drop it, police said. There is no evidence he fired his weapon. <\/p>\n
The five officers identified in the shooting include: <\/p>\n
Luis Cortes Garcia (less than 1 year of service)<\/p>\n
Richard Julien (less than 1 year of service)<\/p>\n
John Reyes (less than 3 years of service)<\/p>\n
Aldamaris Flores (less than 3 years of service) <\/p>\n
Joshua Rodriguez (less than 5 years of service)<\/p>\n
At least one neighbor, who asked not to be identified out of concern for his safety, said the outcome should have been different.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019ve called the police several times,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s ridiculous that somebody gets killed over situations like this.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHe should have been tased, properly controlled, safely controlled \u2014 and taken, not to jail, to a mental hospital to make sure that he has the proper medication that he needs,\u201d the neighbor said.<\/p>\n
The shooting is renewing scrutiny of how San Antonio handles 911 calls involving possible mental health crises. <\/p>\n
SAPD recorded 28,800 mental health-related 911 calls in 2025 \u2014 a slight decrease from prior years, but still a significant burden on the system. More than half of those calls are still answered by patrol officers.<\/p>\n
The city does operate SA CORE \u2014 the San Antonio Community Outreach and Resiliency Effort \u2014 three teams each made up of a mental health unit officer, a fire department paramedic and a clinician, providing 24-hour coverage across the city. But those teams are only dispatched on lower-acuity calls \u2014 when no weapon is involved, and the situation has not escalated.<\/p>\n