Three San Antonio police officers were charged with murder on Friday in the fatal shooting of a woman who was armed with a hammer.
Sgt. Alfred Flores and Officers Eleazar Alejandro and Nathaniel Villalobos were suspended and later charged with murder for fatally shooting Melissa Perez, 46.
According to reports, the officers responded to calls that Perez cut the wires to a fire alarm at the apartment complex, which is a felony.
The officers were dispatched to the 6200 block of Old Pearsall Road where they encountered the Hispanic woman in the parking lot of the apartment complex.
Perez ran from the officers and went inside the apartment.
The officers tried to enter the apartment to make an arrest, but Perez grabbed a hammer and threw a glass candle at the officers, striking one of them in the arm.
The police officers shouted commands at Perez for 30 minutes before she charged at them with a hammer.
“You’re going to get shot!” one officer shouted.
“Shoot me! You ain’t got no warrant!” Perez shouted
A police officer opened fire on Perez, but it appears she was not struck by the first round of gunfire.
Perez was eventually struck by the gunfire and died.
“The officers’ actions were not consistent with SAPD’s policy and training,” Police Chief William McManus said during a news conference on Friday night, according to AP.
“They placed themselves in a situation where they used deadly force which was not reasonable given all the circumstances as we now understand them,” McManus said.
McManus said Perez appeared to be suffering from a “mental health crisis.”
Watch police bodycam footage of the fatal shooting:
