Fifth Circuit scrutinizes police shooting of mentally ill woman

(CN) — The children of a woman shot and killed by San Antonio police during a schizophrenic episode asked a Fifth Circuit panel Tuesday to revive their civil rights lawsuit against the city and two police officers.

The plaintiffs claim the officers used excessive force in shooting 46-year-old Melissa Perez in 2023. The incident was captured on a body camera, and judges on the panel grilled attorneys for both sides on the specific facts of the case and whether the shooting was reasonable.

Police had been summoned to Perez’s apartment building after she cut the building’s fire alarm wires, which she believed the FBI was using to spy on her. After speaking with police, Perez fled into her apartment. Following a lengthy standoff with Perez, a trio of police officers attempted to gain entry into the apartment through the patio door, which turned out to be locked. The three officers then fired on Perez after she charged toward the door with a hammer, with bullets from two of the officers hitting and killing her.

Dan Packard, an attorney for the plaintiffs, challenged factual findings a lower court made when dismissing the case, such as that the officers could not have easily retreated and that they did not know the door Perez was charging toward was locked. Packard argued these findings are contradicted by the plaintiffs’ pleadings and the body camera footage.

U.S. Circuit Judge Stephen Higginson asked Packard if any prior cases establish officers have a duty to retreat in such a circumstance.

“What’s the case that says police officers, who may have many other emergency responses around the city, have to stop, retreat, find the manager, go in in a particular way?” the Barack Obama appointee asked. “Is there any authority for that?”

But Higginson and U.S. Circuit Judge Priscilla Richman, a George W. Bush appointee, also grilled the officers’ attorney, Stephen Barron, on the officers’ decision-making, questioning why they chose to engage with Perez instead of letting the police department’s mental health team handle the situation and why they shot Perez when she was behind a door.

Barron argued Perez posed an “immediate threat” by running toward the officers with a hammer and that the officers had to make a “split-second decision,” but Higginson pushed back on this argument.

“There’s a barrier,” he said. “What’s the theory? She’s going to throw it like Thor through it? Or the theory is she’s just, like an apparition, going to come through it herself? How’s she going to get the weapon to make contact with officers on the other side of the door?”

U.S. Circuit Judge Dana M. Douglas, a Joe Biden appointee, joined Higginson and Richman on the panel.

After the shooting, the three officers involved were fired from the force and faced criminal charges over Perez’s death. The two officers who killed Perez were charged with murder, while the officer whose bullets missed Perez was charged with aggravated assault and deadly conduct. Last year, a Bexar County jury acquitted the officers of all charges. The case made national headlines and led to scrutiny of the San Antonio Police Department.

The San Antonio police chief has condemned the shooting, saying the officers acted unreasonably. Packard pointed to this to support his argument that the officers violated Perez’s constitutional rights.

“The police chief, who is well known for defending his officers, looked at the same video that the court has and found that it was excessive,” he said.

The panel did not give an indication of when it would rule on the case.