SAN ANTONIO — A grassroots organization that works to hold law enforcement accountable says the senseless loss of life that led to three police officers being charged with murder here should have never happened.
They say the early Friday death of a southwest side woman having a mental health crisis was an act of quote "neglect, foolishness and violence."
ACT4SA has published a strong rebuke online of the tragic police shooting of 46-year-old Melissa Perez, who was shot to death in her own apartment on Old Pearsall Road by three San Antonio police officers responding to a disturbance call.
Perez had been accused of vandalism, setting off apartment fire alarms, and the arrest affidavit for the three officers says when Perez came at them with a hammer, all three of them shot her, even though she was inside her apartment and they could have backed off.
Ananda Tomas, of ACT4SA, said, "We have mental health crisis response programs and I'm just wondering why they had not been called to respond to the scene, because it led to a deadly escalation and that's the whole point of having these types of teams here to avoid this from happening."
City Council representative Jalen McKee-Rodriguez, who has also pushed for accountability, said “I think most of us are certain that events shouldn't take place and officers shouldn't behave in that manner. As far as Chief McManus' decision, especially in acting so swiftly, I really appreciate that and that's the kind of response we should be seeing."
Deputy Police Chief Jesse Salame, appearing at a community forum, said he hopes the painful incident will be a catalyst for change.
Salame said “I think the way we move forward from a lot of these issues that we're seeing, the polarization, the violence, is to come together and work as a community."
One of the neighbors who lives in the Rosemont at Miller’s Pond complex said that while they were all outside, listening to the blaring fire alarm, Perez approached a woman with a walker and told her to have faith and to be as healthy as she could be. They said in that moment right before she died, Perez was focused on faith, and they hope she has now found peace.