SAN ANTONIO – Attorneys for two Bexar County deputies who shot and killed a knife-wielding man have filed a motion for summary judgment in the case, claiming there "is no genuine issue as to any material fact."
Deputies Greg Vasquez and Robert Sanchez have been sued by the family of Gilbert Flores, who they shot and killed following a recorded 12-minute confrontation outside Flores' Northwest side home in August 2015.
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Flores' wife, Maritza Amador, said he assaulted her while she was holding their newborn baby. When deputies arrived, Flores confronted them with a knife. A bystander videotaped the incident from there as it unfolded outside the home.
The deputies cite seven "deadly force scenarios" during the exchange. They include statements they said Flores made, including, "I'm not going back, I just did 10 years," and "I told you, you would have to kill me." The deputies said they repeatedly told Flores to drop a fixed-blade knife he had been holding and "using overhand lunging slashes" at Vasquez.
They also said Flores "picked up Deputy Vasquez' taser from the street and attempted to activate it against Deputy Vasquez and Sanchez, but was unsuccessful." At one point, the video showed Flores open the front passenger door of Deputy Vasquez's patrol vehicle, which "had the keys in the ignition and an AR-15 inside the vehicle."
The motion said the deputies were "in imminent fear of death or serious bodily injury by the actions of Gilbert Flores at the time of the fatal shots."
Amador's attorney said Flores did not pose an immediate threat to the deputies or anyone else at the time he was shot.
"At the moment Vasquez and Sanchez fired their shots at Flores, evidence shows that Flores was standing more than 20 feet away from the deputies, Gilbert Flores had walked away from Deputy Vasquez's Tahoe, raised his hands in apparent surrender, stood still, his hands were not moving, his feet were not moving, he was not moving or advancing toward the deputies and no family members or neighbors were in the vicinity," the document said.
A judge has not ruled on the motion. The case is set for trial Oct. 23.
Click here to read the motion filed by the deputies.
Click here to read the response filed by the Flores family.
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