Cop Shoots At Suspected Truck Thief
By Eva Ruth Moravec - San Antonio Express News
September 15, 2009

An off-duty San Antonio police detective shot at a truck that was being stolen outside a North Side hotel early Wednesday, the 16th officer-involved shooting this year.

No one was reported injured and the thief was able to escape with the silver Dodge pickup. However, police said they arrested an alleged accomplice, who has since been released from custody.

Edward Paiz, 20, was freed Wednesday morning after posting bail on a $5,000 bond on a theft of vehicle charge.

Meanwhile, police continued to search for the suspect who took the truck, as well as investigate the shooting to determine if the detective was justified in firing at it.

Detective Chinee Edwards, who was wearing his police uniform, fired two shots as the truck reversed toward him in the parking lot of the Pear Tree Inn in the 100 block of Northeast Loop 410. Despite his commands for the driver to stop, authorities said the truck kept moving toward the 58-year-old detective.

Few details of the shooting were released, such as where the bullets struck or where Edwards was standing when the truck began to move. However, authorities did make one thing clear Wednesday: Edwards feared for his life.

The 24-year police veteran has been placed on administrative duty while the department finalizes its investigation — a move that is standard procedure when an officer is involved in a shooting.

Sgt. Chris Benavides, a Police Department spokesman, said Edwards feared the truck was going to run him over.

While the Police Department's general manual prohibits officers, even when off-duty, from discharging their weapons at a moving vehicle, they may do so “as the ultimate measure of self-defense or defense of another.”

According to Thomas Aveni, executive director of the New Hampshire-based Police Policy Studies Council, the investigation should focus on whether Edwards could get out of the truck's way.

“The heart of the issue is if the officer reasonably believes, based on established case law, that the vehicle is being used as a weapon and presents an imminent threat,” Aveni said.

Benavides said Edwards was hired part-time specifically to curb a rash of burglaries and thefts of vehicles from hotels near the San Antonio International Airport.

Around 1 a.m. Wednesday, Edwards was sitting in his personal car in the hotel's parking lot, when he saw the two suspects park next to the silver Dodge pickup, according to a police incident report.

Paiz's partner approached the truck and popped the lock, the report states. That's when Edwards moved his car, parked it near the truck and confronted the suspect, leading to shooting. After the suspect managed to flee, Edwards turned to Paiz, who surrendered.

Police said items that Paiz had when he was arrested led officers to believe the two men may have been involved in other robberies overnight.

Authorities have acknowledged the increase in officer-involved shootings this year, which now account for six more than all of last year.

Benavides said officers are being forced into positions “to react based on the suspects' behaviors.”

Aveni, who researches officer-involved shootings nationwide, said that in general, preventative policing results in increased shootings.

“When agencies are involved in more proactive policing with the focus on high crime and violent activities, you're going to see the use of force going up,” he said.