Rocha Investigation

ACLU Submits Open Records Request, Urges Thorough Investigation of Rocha Killing

Last Thursday, the Central Texas chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union submitted an open records request for all public documents related to the recent shooting of 18-year-old Hispanic male Daniel Rocha by an Austin Police Department officer. This case appears to represent the misuse of lethal force by the Austin Police Department against an unarmed man--and the public release of the police car videotapes could have answered many of the questions posed by the public-- if those tapes existed; although there were three police cars at the scene, officials now claim that the two cars present at the time of the shooting did not have their cameras on, and that the third arrived only after the shot had been fired.

"All the car cameras should have been recording this incident," said Austin Dullnig of the Central Texas ACLU, "and the fact, alone, that two were off should be grounds for serious discipline. We also demand that the Austin Police Monitor to take a leading role and ensure that justice will be done."

He continued, "The ACLU worked hard to help create the office of the Police Monitor and, although its ability to share information publicly was severely crippled by the Austin Police Association during the process, Ashton Cumberbatch still has the power to request that certain questions be asked of the officers involved. This is exactly the kind of case where thorough questioning is warranted, and we expect Mr. Cumberbatch to exercise his authority to the utmost extent."

Mr. Rocha was shot in the back and, according to press interviews, eyewitnesses and the police reports that have been released so far, was unarmed at the time and had informed the officers of that fact during the scuffle. At a Town Hall Meeting last Thursday night, police said they had videotaped a re-enactment of the incident, but still couldn't say for sure what position Rocha was in when the shot was fired. However, it has been asserted by eyewitnesses that Rocha was already pinned on the pavement when the shot was fired, and when someone asked how Daniel could possibly have been a threat "lying face down on the ground" officials did not dispute the form of the question. Instead they said: "That is up to the Grand Jury to decide."

The ACLU's Debbie Russell noted, "This incident also stresses the need for evaluation of the use of tasers. The APD cannot have it both ways; on the one hand, we have multiple officers repeatedly tasing people to the point of serious injury. On the other hand, when a single taser is merely thought to be in the hands of an 18-year-old kid who is confronted by two trained police officers, it is used as justification for homicide."

The shooting of Daniel Rocha has incited not only massive public outrage and fueled ongoing accusations of racism, but has also triggered a Federal investigation into the incident. This investigation comes less than thee months after Austin City Manager Toby Futrell filed her own request for a Federal investigation of the APD due to their shockingly inappropriate behavior during the burning of the Midtown nightclub, whose clientele were predominately African-American.