‘I’m going to die today’: Trial begins in controversial 2015 killing by Bexar deputies; man was holding his hands up
A video frame grab shows Gilbert Flores with his hands in the air and two Bexar County deputies with their guns drawn. Less than a second later, Flores would be shot and killed by the deputies. The video was shot by a neighbor and was released months later by the Bexar County Sheriff’s Office.
U.S. District Judge Robert Pitman in 2017 dismissed Bexar County from the lawsuit filed by Flores’ family, but he determined Deputies Sanchez and Vasquez should stand a civil trial. The deputies appealed, but their arguments to toss the case failed. The family’s lawyers, with the Thomas J. Henry law firm, and the deputies’ attorney, Charles Frigerio, filed trial briefs last week arguing what should, and should not, be put in front of jurors.
The deputies agreed on “ending this” and opened fire, one after the other, just as Flores — who earlier had tried to stab them, took away a police Taser, and came close to getting a deputy’s AR-15 rifle — had seemed to stop his erratic behavior and raised his hands above his head in what appeared to be surrender, the family lawyers’ filings said.