SAN ANTONIO — The family of a man killed by deputies is urging the Bexar County District Attorney to move his case to a grand jury.
Family members of Damian Daniels held a press conference Tuesday afternoon in front of the district attorney's office.
See the press conference below:
Later, a spokesperson for the DA's office said they intend to present the case to a grand jury sometime in December.
Daniels, armed with a gun and knife, was having a mental crisis episode following a series of calls to the 11200 block of Liberty Field on August 25, 2020.
Sheriff Javier Salazar said the deputies were trying to help Daniels, but it turned into an altercation. The 31-year-old was killed after a two-minute-long struggle that began when he reached for a deputy's taser.
Protests and scrutiny continued to follow BCSO’s management of the situation, which did not include mental health staffing funded by the county.
"They took an innocent life. He was innocent. He committed no crime. Mental health is not a crime," his mother Annette Watkins said.
The District Attorney says he plans to take the case to the grand jury by the end of the month.
The family has seen the body camera footage but the public has not.
Today, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff questioned Sheriff Salazar about why.
Sherriff Salazar will have 10 days to release body camera footage of future incidents involving deputies.
"We are going to do what we can to make this work," Salazar said.