A Texas Attorney General custodial death report reveals that the Edinburg police officer who shot a 29-year-old man on Jan. 11 interrupted an assault-in-progress against a woman.
The report identifies Jesse Daniel Davila, an Edinburg resident, as the man who was killed.
He “sustained multiple gunshot wounds,” according to the report.
The summary in the report makes no mention of Davila being armed with a weapon and a section dedicated to whether a suspect was armed states “unknown.”
Edinburg officer Alex Cruz, who fired at Davila, who charged at him during the early morning altercation at 1709 Orlando St. Apt. B, has been placed on administrative leave, per standard procedure.
Cruz responded to the apartment at 5:49 a.m. that day in response to a domestic disturbance in progress.
“On arrival Officer Cruz could hear female screams coning (sic) from within the apartment. Officer Cruz entered the apartment through the unlocked front door and made his way toward a bedroom where he observed the screaming female laying on her back on a mattress on the floor and the suspect on top of her holding her down with both hands,” the report stated.
Cruz yelled repeated commands at Davila to release the woman and show his hands, according to the report.
“The suspect stood up and came towards the officer. Officer Cruz pushed the suspect back away from him and down to the floor giving a few seconds for the female to get up and gather her children for safety,” the report stated.
Police say Davila got up and went toward the officer in an aggressive manner while ignoring commands to stop.
“The suspect continued lunging toward the officer closing the gap between them placing the officer in fear for his safety. The officer defended the attack by discharging his firearm toward the suspect and stopping the threat,” the report stated.
The city said in a press release released late Jan. 11 that the Texas Rangers will investigate the case.
On Tuesday, Texas Department of Public Safety spokesman Lt. Christopher Olivarez confirmed that the investigation is ongoing.
As for Davila, court records reflect he was charged with domestic assault in 2017 and in 2019.
According to two misdemeanor complaints, on Jan. 5, 2017, he threatened murder and arson against a woman and hit her.
In this case, the Edinburg Police Department charged him with terroristic threat and assault family violence.
He later entered a guilty plea to assault family violence and the terroristic threat charge was dismissed.
He was sentenced to two years probation and ordered to take classes at Mujeres Unidas/Women Together, a shelter for domestic violence victims that also offers counseling to batterers.
In Davila’s latest arrest, an indictment alleges that on July 8, 2019, he choked a woman.
The 2017 and 2019 cases involve two different women.
The 2019 case had not been resolved.
