dangerous objects

Charles Roundtree Jr. was sitting on the couch at his four-month-old’s relatives house in San Antonio, Texas, on October 11, 2018, when police reported to the house on an assault call. The house was known to have a previous history of drug activity. Officer Steve Casanova approached the partially opened door without identifying himself as law enforcement and started to shine a light into the house. Davante Snowden, who was inside the house sitting on the couch with Roundtree and Taylor Singleton, stood up blinded from the light and said, “Who the fuck are you,” not knowing that Casanova was an officer. According to the police report, Snowden then began to reach at his waistband, presumably for a gun, and Casanova began to fire multiple rounds, one grazing Snowden’s rear and fatally striking Roundtree in the chest. Singleton said that the officer was spraying the house with bullets and a separate shot killed Roundtree, contradicting the police report. Snowden was taken to a nearby hospital and Roundtree was found dead in the hallway of the house. He was 18 years old.

 

Davante Snowden was charged with felony gun possession when he was released from the hospital. The police report lists Snowden and Roundtree as suspects and Casanova as a victim in the shooting, although Roundtree was a bystander. Casanova was then placed on administrative duty for the duration of the investigation.

 

Charles Roundtree’s family filed a wrongful death lawsuit against San Antonio Police Department and Officer Steve Casanova. The lawsuit claims that Casanova came into the home and began to shine a bright light without identifying himself as an officer, and it also accused the City of San Antonio of not vetting officers who were previously known to use force excessively. It states, “The city of San Antonio and its policy makers… failed to properly supervise, screen, discipline, transfer, counsel or otherwise control officers who are known, or who should have been known, to engage in the use of excessive force, including those officers repeatedly accused of such acts.”

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Sources: 

5:18-cv-01117-FB (United States District Court Western District of Texas San Antonio Division October 23, 2018) (Scribd, Dist. file).

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Beltran, J. (2018, October 27). Justice sought for man killed by San Antonio officer. Retrieved from https://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Justice-sought-for-man-killed-by-San-Antonio-13340875.php

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Hurst, M. (2018, December 25). Officer involved shooting victim's family wants murder charge, SAPD officer's job. Retrieved from https://www.kens5.com/article/news/local/officer-involved-shooting-victims-family-wants-murder-charge-sapd-officers-job/273-624748495

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Hurst, M. (2019, January 30). 'I watched him die': Eyewitness to SAPD officer-involved shooting claims policeman overreacted. Retrieved from https://www.kens5.com/article/news/i-watched-him-die-eyewitness-to-sapd-officer-involved-shooting-claims-policeman-overreacted/273-c98300fc-082d-43f5-9c40-b8148c4f8c7c

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Martinez, S. (2018, November 18). Family of San Antonio Teen Fatally Shot by Officer Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit. Retrieved from https://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2018/10/26/family-of-san-antonio-teen-fatally-shot-by-officer-files-wrongful-death-lawsuit

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Tracy, G. (2018, October 25). Wrongful death lawsuit filed against SAPD officer after teen accidentally shot, killed. Retrieved from https://news4sanantonio.com/news/local/wrongful-death-lawsuit-filed-against-sapd-officer-after-teen-accidentally-shot-killed