The Texas Department of Public Safety said in a custodial death report that the 23-year-old man shot and killed in Weslaco by a trooper in early September made threatening and suicidal comments.
The trooper shot and killed Carlos Daniel Hernandez, of La Feria, at approximately 2:34 a.m. on Sept. 7 on Joe Stephens Avenue near the Mid Valley Airport following a chase that started at around 2:04 a.m., according to a prior news release.
At the time, DPS said Hernandez was shot and killed after entering the trooper’s patrol unit while they were trying to arrest him and attempting to put it in drive while activating its vehicle emergency siren.
“The trooper’s department-issued duty rifle was positioned inside the vehicle,” the release stated. “The trooper discharged his duty weapon, striking the male subject multiple times.”
The custodial death report echoes the initial release in that it describes how Hernandez fled at a high speed in a black Chevrolet Camaro on the expressway and Mile 2 Road with no lights on.
“The vehicle traveled in excess of 100 mph with a flat tire, eventually lost control, and collided with the concrete barrier on IH-2, east of FM 88, in Weslaco,” the report stated.
Authorities began looking for Hernandez and the report said that once found, he “began to make threatening comments while keeping his hands behind his back.”
“The suspect told the Trooper he had a gun and asked the Trooper if he was ready to kill someone,” the report stated. “The suspect then entered the Trooper’s fully marked DPS patrol vehicle through the driver’s door and closed it behind him. The suspect turned on the lights and sirens.”
The report said the trooper’s rifle was within Hernandez’s reach and that the trooper believed Hernandez was going to steal the unit and escape.
“The Trooper also feared if he approached the vehicle to extract the suspect, he would be shot at point blank range,” the report stated. “To avoid the suspect’s escape and being shot, the Trooper fired his duty weapon at the suspect who died at the scene despite officers’ life-saving measures.”
The report also indicates that Hernandez did not gain possession of the weapon and also in a section on the report that asks if the suspect attempted to gain possession of the officer’s weapon, it says “No.”
The report said that authorities would have charged Hernandez with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, theft of a motor vehicle and evading in a motor vehicle.
The report does not identify the trooper who shot and killed Hernandez.
