SAN ANTONIO -- Thomas J. Henry, attorney for the family of Gilbert Flores, said Thursday that new evidence has been released in Flores' deputy-involved shooting death last year.
Following the incident, two videos surfaced of the shooting where Flores is seen with his hands up and then deputies fatally shooting him. The deputies who shot him were later identified as Deputy Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez.
On Tuesday, Henry's law office released new evidence of a FBI-enhanced video of the shooting and a diagram of the crime scene. The attorney said the evidence conflicts with the deputies sworn statements, which were made prior to the videos being released.
The statements said Flores was moving toward deputies and was about 6 to 8 feet away from them. But Henry said the newly released diagram shows Flores standing more than 20 feet away from deputies at the time of the shooting.
Attorneys with Thomas J. Henry said the FBI enhanced video also shows Flores holding his hands up in surrender about 20 feet from the officers.
Last year in August, deputies responded to a home for a domestic disturbance call after Flores' mother called for help. She said Flores was hitting his wife and was armed with a knife. Flores is heard in the background of the 911 call saying: "You're gonna have to kill me. I promise you that. It's my time to go."
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said non-lethal attempts to stop Flores failed to work. The deputies who shot him were later identified as deputy Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez. Following the incident, two witness videos surfaced where Flores was seen with his hands up and then deputies fatally shot him. Henry said the enhanced video shows Flores did not move.
"It is clear that there is no overt movement forward. The only overt movement he is making is to put his hands up in the air," said Henry.
But the deputies sworn statements say they were threatened by Flores. Vasquez said he shot Flores because he was "advancing toward him and deputy Sanchez." He said Flores was "about six to eight feet away." But Henry said the diagram of the crime scene completed by investigators conflicts with the deputy's statements. Henry said it showed the deputies were more than 20 feet away when Flores was shot.
"We know its a complete fabrication. If you look at the video, if you look at the measurements. Mr. Flores is a great, great distance from the officers. And for him to be an immediate harm or threat to those officers anywhere else, it's clearly untrue," said Henry.
A grand jury decided not to indict both deputies. The Flores family has since, filed a civil lawsuit against the sheriff's office and a jury trial is set for next year.
The sheriff's office could not comment because of the pending litigation. The Bexar County district attorney, Nico LaHood responded to the evidence released in the case.
"The code of criminal procedure restricts me from saying what was presented to the grand jury but let me tell you what our practice is. What the new culture is in this office. We present all evidence to the grand jury. We don't cherry pick evidence. I don't think that's honorable," said LaHood.
WARNING: THIS VIDEO IS GRAPHIC IN NATURE- Gilbert Flores Shooting- FBI Enhanced Cut from Thomas J. Henry Injury Attorneys on Vimeo.
The Bexar County Sheriff's Office said it has no comments at this time because it is a pending case.
Further details were not immediately available.