Civil rights attorney representing George Floyd’s family calls out SAPD on Charles Roundtree killing
Notable civil rights attorney Ben Crump is questioning a San Antonio Police Department officer’s justification of a shooting that led to the death of a 18-year-old Charles Roundtree in 2018.
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Notable civil rights attorney Ben Crump is questioning a San Antonio Police Department officer’s justification of a shooting that led to the death of a local teenager in 2018.
Crump, who is representing George Floyd’s family, shared a video on Twitter from a local TV station’s report on the events of the Oct. 17, 2018, fatal shooting of 18-year-old Charles Roundtree. Steve Casanova, the officer who fired the fatal shots, was not indicted and remains on the force, which has received backlash from Roundtree’s family, community organizers and now Crump.
KSAT showed two separate angles of body camera footage it received from a source and not the police department. Both angles show Casanova pushing open the door to the home, where Roundtree was hanging out with Davante Snowden and Taylor Singleton. The officer cannot be heard identifying himself before firing his gun.
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According to SAPD, Casanova and two other officers entered the home to investigate an alleged assault. Police say Snowden reached for a gun in his waistband, prompting Casanova to fire. The bullet went through Snowden’s buttocks and struck Roundtree in the chest, killing him at the scene.
Snowden was acquitted by a Bexar County jury on a firearms violation in July 2019.
Crump says the footage “raises huge questions about his entire justification of the shooting” and challenged SAPD’s handling of the case.
“@SATX needs to stop protecting Casanova & release ALL info & footage publicly about this tragic incident,” Crump tweeted.
Roundtree’s family has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against SAPD. City attorney Andy Segovia declined to comment to KSAT because the litigation is ongoing.
Madalyn Mendoza covers news and puro pop culture for MySA.com | [email protected] | @maddyskye
