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Officer Shaun Lucas arrested through the Texas Rangers, who said his moves “were not for an unacceptable reason. “
By Bryan Pietsch
A white Texas police officer was charged with manslaughter in the fatal shooting of a 31-year-old black man who, according to the government, began to walk away when he was confronted at a gas station on Saturday.
Wolfe City Department police officer Shaun Lucas was arrested through the Texas Rangers and arrested Monday in the Hunt County jail in Texas before being transferred to another facility. His bail was set at $1 million, according to criminal records.
Officer Lucas had responded to a call Saturday about a “possible ongoing match” in Wolfe City, Texas, a city about 1,400 miles northeast of Dallas, the Texas Rangers said Monday night.
The officer tried to detain Jonathan Price, who had intervened after seeing a “man assaulting a woman,” said S. Lee Merritt, M. Price. M’s attorney. familyMerritt said Mr. Price unarmed.
Price “resisted in a non-threatening stance and began to move away,” the Texas Rangers said. Lucas fired a Taser pistol before “unloading his service weapon by hitting” Mr. Price.
Mr. Price was taken to Hunt Regional Hospital where he died.
“The preliminary investigation indicates that Officer Lucas’ movements were reasonable,” the Texas Rangers said. “The Texas Rangers charged Officer Lucas with murder and put him in the Hunt County Jail.
Merritt said on Twitter after Lucas was arrested that the arrest “took a position the day he murdered JP,” adding, “John is still here.
Merritt said the arrest was the “first step. “
“Let’s go and see justice, ” he said.
We may not be decided early Tuesday if Officer Lucas had a lawyer.
Some Democrats in Texas have expressed outrage on social media over the shooting.
“Jonathan Price is alive,” Beto O’Rourke, a former Texas congressman and former presidential candidate, said on Twitter. “The police will have to stop black men and women from being killed. “
Julian Castro, a former presidential candidate and former mayor of San Antonio, described Castro. Price as a “community leader and mentor he killed while seeking to end an internal conflict. “
“I hope your circle of family members get the justice they deserve,” he said on Twitter.
Price, a speaker and motivating coach, said Price. Merritt. Also a former school football player. “He is known as a hero of his hometown, ” said Merritt.
Wolfe City officials said on a Sunday on the city’s Facebook page that an officer had been “put on administrative leave pending an investigation” through the Texas Rangers after the shooting.
On its website, the city police branch lists Agent Lucas as one of 3 law enforcement officers. Police officers did not respond to a request for comment early Tuesday morning.
On Thursday, Officer Lucas fired from the city’s police section “for his flagrant violation of city and police policy,” city officials said in a statement.
The Texas Rangers, a law enforcement department within the state Department of Public Safety, are investigating the murder with the cooperation of the Wolfe City Police Department and the Hunt County District Attorney.
Maria Cramer contributed to the report.
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