SAN ANTONIO – A Bexar County grand jury has no-billed a San Antonio police officer who shot and killed a 13-year-old boy on June 3, 2022.
District Attorney Joe Gonzales said the jury concluded its review of San Antonio police officer Stephen Ramos before returning the no-bill of the indictment on Thursday.
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“The Grand Jury represents the citizens of Bexar County during the first step of the legal process. Our office trusts these citizens in their determination to serve the interests of justice and respects their determination,” Gonzales said in a written statement. “Our system of justice is based on citizen input, yet nothing can repair the pain and loss that AJ Hernandez’s family has endured. A young boy was tragically lost on that day and we know that no mother should ever have to bury their child.”
San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said at the scene last year that the teen, Andre “AJ” Hernandez, was driving a stolen car that rammed into a police cruiser in the 5100 block of War Cloud Street.
McManus said the officer feared for his comrade’s life because he thought the vehicle would injure him, so he opened fire on Andre, who later died at a hospital.
Lee Merritt, the attorney representing the family who spoke to KSAT in June 2022, said he and the teen’s family were allowed to view portions of the body camera videos. He said what he saw in the videos did not reflect what San Antonio police had been telling the public.
“Within one second of (Officer) Mr. Ramos exiting his vehicle, he already fired upon the vehicle occupied by Mr. Hernandez. In my opinion, he didn’t have sufficient time to obtain a target or warn the driver that he would shoot or gain compliance. He simply stepped out of his vehicle and fired into the vehicle driven by Mr. Hernandez,” Merritt said last year.
KSAT Investigates discovered last year that Andre was arrested in April 2022 in Kinney County on seven charges of human smuggling and evading arrest with a vehicle.
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