Family of Malachi Williams has not yet seen video of shooting
“We acknowledge the community’s concern regarding this heartbreaking tragedy and the grief that Malachi William’s family has expressed,” said San Marcos City Manager Stephanie Reyes. “It has been emotional for all of us as well.”
Reyes announced that the city is working on an update for the policy regarding the viewing of San Marcos Police Department body worn camera footage for crisis situations at the regularly scheduled city council meeting Tuesday. She also said that Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins has agreed to allow Williams’ family to view some of the footage and is attempting to schedule a time for that to occur. Williams is the 22 year-old who was shot and killed by a San Marcos Police officer after a foot pursuit on April 11. Wayne Mill- er, Williams’ grandfather, said that the terms under which they are allowed to watch the footage are not “fair.” San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said Higgins has agreed to allow unredacted viewing of the officer’s body worn camera footage except the initial contact between the officer and Williams at the convenience store.
“I see more ways of hiding the truth,” Miller said. “And if Malachi did what they said he did, it’s going to be there. So why not show me what happened in the store?”
Williams’ family have been attending every San Marcos City Council meeting since the shooting and speaking in public comment saying that they have yet to see the bodyworn camera footage of the incident. Previously, Hays County District Attorney Kelly Higgins said that the family would be able to see the footage and his office is making attempts to schedule the viewing.
“Our office’s policy regarding body worn camera footage related to an officer- involved shooting is to protect the video from public disclosure during the pendency of an investigation,” Higgins said. “If charges are brought against an officer or other person, we will continue to protect the footage from public release until the case is resolved.”
Reyes said that it is her understanding that video footage is currently available for the family of Williams’ to view along with their attorney of record through Higgins' office.
“It is our understanding that neither the family nor the attorney of record has contacted the District Attorney’s office to view the material,” Reyes said. “We recognize that there is a desire for information about this critical incident to be released to the public. As such, I asked Chief Standridge to work with our communications team and Chief’s Advisory Panel to develop a San Marcos Police Department Crisis Communication Policy. The goal of such policy is to provide consistency on how these types of incidents will be handled in the future and to foster clear expectations to the public for when such information would become available.”
Reyes said the new Crisis Communication Policy is currently undergoing final review, and as part of that review Higgins sent an email to Standridge in May, which Assistant City Manager Rodney Gonzales shared with council.
“In his letter Mr. Higgins requested that Chief Standridge take the District Attorney’s Office concerns into consideration when finalizing the language of the Crisis Communication Policy. Mr. Higgins expressed concerns regarding a public release of any video of the shooting while the investigation is ongoing,” Reyes said. “Mr. Higgins specifically requested that the city uphold any video of an officer involved shooting until after a Grand Jury has been able to review the matter, and Mr. Higgins acknowledged that a family of an officer involved shooting needs information about what happened to their loved one.”
Reyes added that in the email to Standridge, Higgins acknowledged that Texas law allows a prosecutor to permit a family member of the person that was killed to view the evidence.
“The Hays County District Attorney’s Office continues to wait to be contacted by the Miller [Williams] Family or their attorney,” Reyes said. “Regarding the Police Department’s Crisis Communication Policy, the paramount task is upholding community transparency without compromising investigative procedures. Chief Standridge is finalizing the language for the policy, which takes into account balancing this for consideration.”
Standridge said that after consulting with Higgins, the decision made was to provide the family unredacted access to officer’s body worn camera footage of some of the incident but not the initial contact between Williams and the SMPD officer, which occurred at the convenience store.
“It was decided that we would in fact enable unredacted access to the officer’s body-worn camera footage inclusive of the [officer's] original contact with the two victims of the aggravated assault,” Standridge said. “The District Attorney and I have also agreed to provide review of still photos. The still photos depict what we perceive as evidence. So, [we have agreed to] unredacted video access and still photos. It is my understanding the District Attorney has not agreed to [the family] watching the video associated with the store.”
Higgins said Texas law allows the family of the deceased to see the video in “certain situations without triggering a public release,” and his office has offered family members to view footage and receive certain other information. Higgins said the “grand jury process can only function properly if it is free from public and political pressure.” He added that it also requires that the investigation into the matter is “complete, based on facts and free from outside interference” because officer-involved shootings can result in a “strong public reaction.”
“That offer [to view the body-worn camera footage] was made to an attorney representing the family in late April. That attorney stopped communicating with us in early May and just reestablished communication [Wednesday]. We are continuing to offer the family the opportunity to view the video,” Higgins said. “Under Texas Occupations Code Sec. 1701.660(a-1), there must be a determination that allowing the family to see the video furthers a “law enforcement purpose.” For that reason, there are limitations on what can be shown to the family at this point. As we are continuing to work toward allowing the family to view portions of the video, I would prefer to not comment on the specifics of what will or will not be shown at this time. That is the subject of ongoing communications with their attorney.”
UnderTexas Occupations Code Sec. 1701.660(a-1), a law enforcement agency may permit a person who is depicted in a recording of an incident described by Subsection (a) or, if the person is deceased, the person's authorized representative, to view the recording, provided that the law enforcement agency determines that the viewing furthers a law enforcement purpose and provided that any authorized representative who is permitted to view the recording was not a witness to the incident. A person viewing a recording may not duplicate the recording or capture video or audio from the recording. A permitted viewing of a recording under this subsection is not considered to be a release of public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code.
For more information on the case go to sanmarcosrecord. com/news/ man-killed-officer-involved- shooting-identified- malachi-williams.
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