Joshua Feast fatally shot by police in Texas

Stay connected via Google News

Follow us for the latest updates from Unheard Voices

La Marque, Texas police officer Jose Santos shot and killed 22-year-old Joshua Feast on Wednesday Dec. 9.

Why police encountered Joshua Feast

Investigators say he was a person of interest for a string of recent shootings in the area. This reportedly prompted the police encounter.

Authorities said Feast was sitting in his car when he got out. He started running across the street when he seen the police.

According to an initial report, that’s when officers opened fire on Feast stating he allegedly pointed a handgun at the officer.

Feast was taken to a local hospital where he later died.

Police said they found rifles at the scene but did not explain where they found them or who owned them.

But there have been conflicting accounts on what happened that night.

Conflicting accounts, witness statements

Witnesses said Feast was running from police when an officer shot him in the back across the street from his home.

Joshua’s uncle, who spoke to ABC’s Eyewitness News, corroborates witnesses accounts. He stated he saw a La Marque police officer driving down the street made a U-turn, pulled up, and yelled his nephew’s name. That’s when his nephew ran and the officer shot him in the back, his uncle said.

“I run to my bedroom window. I heard the officer tell him, ‘Put your hands up where I can see them!’” the neighbor said. “But (Josh) was already shot. After (he) was shot, (the officer) said put your hands where I can see them.” The neighbor also said that the officer offered no help to the man after shooting him: “I came outside and overheard the officer saying, ‘Talk to me, Josh. Talk to me, talk to me.’ As if he sees him fading away without trying to render aid or at least help him.”

Seeking transparency

Community advocates are asking for transparency, demanding the department to release body cam footage to the public and fire La Marque Police Chief Kirk Jackson and officer Jose Santos.

“What happened to Joshua Feast is a symptom of what has been occurring here. The lack of relationship that the La Marque police department has with its citizens here,” NAACP Dickinson member Madalyn Salazar said to local Texas outlet KHOU 11.

About Santos previous officer-involved shooting

Santos has been with the department since 2014. The department said he had been involved in a previous deadly officer‑involved shooting. In that shooting, he shot and killed suspect Gregory Ham in December 2017 . The man reportedly struck the officer in the face with a sword, according to authorities. Santos has been placed on administrative leave. The Galveston County Sheriff’s Office and Galveston County District Attorney’s Office are investigating Joshua Feast’s killing.

While there is body camera footage, deputies said footage cannot be released at this time.