Video captures Texas cops shooting man with raised hands

A Texas broadcaster has published video captured from a viewer's mobile phone that shows San Antonio police shoot and kill a man with his hands up.

The video, published Monday, shows deputies shoot 41-year-old Gilbert Flores outside a house where police were responding to a domestic disturbance call.

"He put his hands in the air and then he had his hands up for a few seconds and the cops shot him twice," Michael Thomas, the man who filmed the video, told CNN.

The recorded incident highlights again a YouTube society of sorts where the public, seemingly uneasy with the police because of a raft of shootings, is filming officer activity more and more with their mobile phones. All the while, police departments are embracing body and dash cams to film the public. "I thought with everything going on in the world, with police shootings and everything, I thought I would record what was happening," Thomas said.

The brief video, first broadcast by KSAT, has sparked threats against the Bexar County deputies connected to the shooting.

"The deputies who were involved have families, and at this point, these deputies are still considered innocent until proven guilty," James Keith, a Bexar County Sheriff's Office spokesman, said. The sheriff's office tweeted Monday that KSAT was paid $100 for the video. "...[W]e're asking for calm..." the department tweeted.

The deputies who fired have been identified as Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez. The pair is on paid leave, standard protocol following an officer-involved shooting.

The video was shot Friday from afar, and the authorities said they are examining the footage.

"We are aware that there is recorded video which appears to show the final moments of this deputy-involved shooting," Bexar County Sheriff Susan Pamerleau told a news conference. "It's among many pieces of evidence that we are collecting to determine what happened."

The authorities said they were responding to a domestic disturbance call made from Flores' residence. Pamerleau said a woman was found with a cut on her head, and a baby appeared to be injured.

She said Flores resisted arrest and that stun guns did not subdue him.

The Bexar County district attorney told KSAT that there is another video, taken from closer range, that investigators are examining.

KSAT said that the victim's criminal record "includes a 2003 aggravated robbery charge and a 1999 criminal trespass charge."

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