AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Austin Police on Tuesday released video footage of the moments that led up to an officer-involved shooting in southeast Austin along U.S. Highway 183 last month.
Police say 51-year old Lashondell Gillespie remains in stable condition, recovering from his injuries, and it's not clear if he will be charged with any crime in connection with the Aug. 19 incident.
Interim police chief Joseph Chacon introduced several video clips, along with a recording of a 911 call that first reported Gillespie walking along the northbound lanes in the 2100 block of U.S. Highway 183 just after 4:30 p.m.
VIEWER WARNING: Some of the scenes depicted in the APD videos may be disturbing to some viewers.
When officers arrived on the scene, they found Gillespie walking down the middle of the highway, with what appeared to be a knife in his hand.
As additional officers arrived on the scene, Gillespie advanced towards the first two officers with the knife in hand, ignoring commands to drop the weapon.
Both officers fired several shots at Gillespie, who fell to the ground but continued to hold on to the knife. A third officer then fired a stun gun at Gillespie while another officer kicked the knife away.
The three officers involved in the case have been identified as Derrick Lehman (11.5 year veteran of APD), Jason Cummins (11 year veteran of APD), and Michael Barba (17 year veteran of APD).
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The video release is the first under APD's new policy of releasing so-called "critical incident" videos within 10 business days.
"Transparency and accountability are key to our ability to serve the Austin community," Chacon said. "This new release process is intended to provide our community with timely information about this recent incident."
Chacon said the information presented in these videos is preliminary and the investigation remains open. Anyone with additional information is urged to call Crime Stoppers at 512-472-TIPS.