According to the SAPD, Officer Gus Vallas, who had been with the department for four years, was one of three police who began chasing Johnson because he was wanted on a warrant for parole violations and a weapons charge. In the video released by the department, the officers chased Johnson on foot until he waded across a creek and stumbled up the far embankment.
One officer can be heard shouting, “Get down, boy!”
As he attempted to climb the creek’s far embankment, Johnson stumbled, fell to the ground and rolled onto his back, at which point officers shouted that he had a gun in his hand and opened fire from the other side of the creek, killing him in a barrage of shots. They continued to fire after he was motionless. According to the SAPD, other officers recovered a handgun near Johnson’s body.
Ananda Tomas, the founder and executive director of ACT4SA, a San Antonio organization that advocates for police accountability, told The TRiiBE the body camera footage shows “a firing squad” that shot Johnson as he was running away. At the time of the shooting, Tomas attended protests and advocated for the release of the body-worn camera video.
“The officers involved were aggressive from the start,” Tomas said. “They clipped Kevin’s bike when they saw him. So, they already set the stage for this young man to be fearful for his life.”