Trial date set for San Antonio cops who shot woman during reported mental health crisis

Testimony in the criminal trial for three former San Antonio police officers charged with fatally shooting a woman inside her apartment last summer during a mental health crisis will get underway Sept. 24, KSAT reports .

On Monday, 187th District Court Judge Stephanie Boyd denied a motion by the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office to push back the trial so its lead attorney could have more review time, according to the TV station.

As a result of the denial, jury selection will begin Sept. 20 for the trial of former SAPD personnel Eleazar Alejandro, Alfred Flores and Nathaniel Villalobos, KSAT reports.

The three were indicted in December on charges related to the June 23, 2023, shooting. Alejandro and Flores both face charges of first-degree murder, while Villalobos face a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. All three were removed from the force after Perez's death.

The trio fired at Perez, who suffered from schizophrenia, from outside her apartment after she hurled a glass candlestick in their direction from behind a sliding glass patio door that was closed at the time.

The slaying prompted calls to reform the way SAPD handles mental health calls. Perez's family also filed a civil rights suit , alleging the department's past failures to hold officers accountable created a culture in which they "engage in excessive, unreasonable and unconstitutional use of force."

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