AUSTIN, Texas — The Austin Police Department (APD) on Tuesday released a series of videos and audio clips revealing the confrontation between officers and a shooter inside a South Austin home soon before the gunman shot and killed SWAT officer Jorge Pastore.
The footage and images do not include the moments when police and the gunman engaged in a firefight inside the home that left Pastore dead and a second officer wounded. However, the videos show the response of arriving officers who responded to a 911 from a woman claiming she and family members had been stabbed inside the home.
The released footage widens the lens on what happened in the early morning hours of Nov. 11 in the incident that left four dead, including the gunman.
APD has a policy under which it releases videos related to incidents involving officers' use of force within 10 business days after the incident occurred. Tuesday marked 10 days since the incident on Bernoulli Drive that resulted in the death of Senior Officer Jorge Pastore and others.
The materials include the 911 call, two police radio traffic audio files and body-worn camera footage from two SWAT officers and one SWAT sergeant. APD said the Travis County District Attorney's Office reviewed the audio and video materials identified for public release.
(Warning: Videos contain images and language that some my find disturbing)
Just before 3 a.m. on Nov. 11, officers responded to a 911 call from a woman who was screaming for help. Officers were informed that two people were injured inside a home with the suspect, later identified as 35-year-old Ahmed Mohamed Nassar.
A third victim, the 911 caller, was able to escape from the home and was located by police and medics in the neighborhood. She told police that Nassar had a knife, and medics took her to a hospital for her injuries.
APD officers made emergency forced entry into the home to rescue the other two victims. But as they entered the home, Interim Chief Robin Henderson said Nassar opened fire on the officers. The officers then backed out of the home and did not return fire at that time.
Shortly after, SWAT officers were called to the scene. Those officers arrived at approximately 4:11 a.m. and forced entry into the home for a second time. The suspect again fired his gun at officers, and the officers returned fire, according to Henderson.
Video from Officer Jeffrey Bauzon's body-worn camera shows officers using what APD calls "distraction devices" to make entry into the home. The exchange of gunfire between officers and Nassar is not shown.
During that exchange of gunfire, Officer Pastore was killed and another officer was injured. Nassar also died as a result of injuries he sustained.
The two victims inside the home, 63-year-old Eyman Elnemrnassar and 32-year-old Riad Nassar, were located and were pronounced dead at the scene.
Three APD officers fired their guns during this incident, according to Henderson. One, Officer Kevin Olejar, has been with APD for eight years and 11 months. The second officer, Officer Jared Carruth, has been with the department for 10 years and 11 months. The third, SWAT Sgt. Kevin DeLaRue, has been with the department for 16 years and seven months. Per the department's protocol, all three have been placed on administrative leave.
APD is conducting two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation conducted by the department's Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney's Office and an administrative investigation conducted by APD's Internal Affairs Unit with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight.
APD released the body camera videos, as well as other media, related to this incident on Tuesday, Nov. 28, at around 3 p.m.