SAN ANTONIO – The family of a 13-year-old boy who was shot and killed by a San Antonio police officer in June of 2022 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the officer and the City of San Antonio.
The family of Andre “AJ” Hernandez and their attorneys made the announcement on Wednesday outside the United States Federal Courthouse located at 262 W Nueva Street.
The officer — Stephen Ramos — was no-billed by a Bexar County grand jury last February for the shooting death of Andre “AJ” Hernandez on June 3, 2022.
Following the incident, San Antonio Police Chief William McManus said AJ was driving a stolen car that rammed into a police cruiser in the 5100 block of War Cloud Street. McManus said that Ramos feared for another officer’s life because he thought the vehicle would injure him, so he opened fire on AJ, who later died at a hospital.
The lawsuit states that AJ’s vehicle “slowly moved forward and made contact with another officer’s vehicle,” but that he had brought his vehicle to a stop and was attempting to surrender when Ramos “immediately opened fire.”
It states that the vehicle was completely boxed in and that AJ was shot before he had a chance to comply with verbal commands or otherwise surrender.
The lawsuit alleges that Ramos used excessive force and violated AJ’s Fourth Amendment rights. It also alleges that the City and its policymakers, including McManus, failed to train, supervise and discipline Ramos.
The lawsuit seeks “unliquidated damages in any amount that is within the jurisdictional limits of the court” and requests a jury trial.
A video from Officer Stephen Ramos’ dashcam that was released by SAPD last February, shows the moment the teen driver reverses away from his vehicle, and then drives forward, hitting Espinoza’s cruiser. You can watch it below:
View the lawsuit below:
Ramos no-billed for another deadly shooting
Ramos also shot and killed a man in March of 2021 at a home in the 1300 block of Brighton Avenue.
The family of John Pena Montez, a 57-year-old military veteran, described him as being in the midst of a mental health crisis. Family members said his estranged, common-law wife called the police because he had a knife and she was worried he would harm himself.
The family was allowed to watch a short clip of the SAPD body-worn camera footage and pushed for the video to be released to the public because they said it showed that the shooting was unprovoked. SAPD did not publicly release the video.
In July of 2022, a grand jury did not find probable cause for indictment in that shooting.
Ramos is still employed with SAPD as a police officer.
*Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Montez was armed with a gun.
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