OFFICIAL VERSION OF COP SHOOTING MAN NOT CREDIBLE

"In her right hand she held a scale; 

Into the scale pieces of gold were tossed 

By those who dodged the strokes of the sword.

Then a youth wearing a red cap 

Leaped to her side and snatched away the bandage. 

And lo, the lashes had been eaten away 

From the oozy eye-lids; 

The eye-balls were seared with a milky mucus; 

The madness of a dying soul 

Was written on her face-- 

But the multitude saw why she wore the bandage."

Carl Hamlin 

From The Spoon River Anthology

By Edgar Lee Masters 

By Juan Montoya

Under the watchful (and approving) eyes of two rinches, a somber Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz stood next to Brownsville Police Chief Orlando Rodriguez and asserted that the shooting of an unarmed man by an obviously unstable Brownsville cop was justifiable.
The choreographed conference came more than a month after 24-year-old Roman Rodriguez was shot twice in the left side of his chest by policeman Rolando Trujillo, a seven-year veteran of the force. The DA's Office and the police gave media reps hand-picked evidence that they recorded on a disk that included the video from the camera on the cop's car, a photograph of the tattoo of a star on the victim's right hand, and Trujillos' tearful statement to Texas Rangers.
Saenz would not answer any questions on what evidence he presented to the garnd jury, other than to refer to the cherry-picked evidence handed the media.

Many questions arise. The shooting resulted from a "beer run" at a local convenience store and nothing suggests that anyone was assaulted or threatened. Yet, the passenger in the SUV Rodriguez was driving and who fled the scene is charged with aggravated robbery. Why?
And where is the "long gray" object that led Trujillo to believe that Rodriguez had a "deadly weapon?" It turns out it was a screwdriver found in the cab of the SUV.
When was Trujillo's statement taken by the Rangers? Was it after he had consulted with police officials and his attorneys so that he could pull off all the right "buzz" words that justify deadly force on the part of a policeman?
The fact that Trujillo admitted that he had fired four shots at very close range and missed two indicates that the officer was not emotionally stable. And the crocodile tears in his taped statement reek of his rehearsed performance seemd aimed at eliciting sympathy for his plight.
Anyone who sees the video will see that at one point Trujillo has the door to Rodriguez's SUV open and that the cab light is on and the inside is open to view. If there was a "deadly" weapon in the cab (and no on has proven that yet), it would have been plainly visible.
Sanez fairly bristled when he was asked what evidence was presented to the grand jury to lead to the no-bill.
"Why am I going to stand her and give you a synopsis when you are gonna see it? That's why I'm going to give you the video," he snarled at the reporters.
Since Saenz is asking that the "evidence"in the disk should be taken at face value by the public and he refuses to show the media what and how the "evidence" was presented to the grand jury, we are asked to imagine what it was. An imagined scenario of the presentation follows follows below:

DA; Ladies and gentlemen of the grand jury, we are here for you to determine whether this fine public servant and keeper of law and order who shot an alcohol-crazed aggravated barrio thief in self defense was guilty of anything else but of defending his life and the safety of the public. The name of this fine officer is Rolando Trujillo Jr. and I will ask him the questions.

DA: Officer Trujillo, how are you today:
TRUJILLO: Fine, sir. I feel safe now.

DA: Why is that fine officer?
TRUJILLO: Because at the time when I stopped that alcohol-crazed barrio thief I was IN FEAR FOR MY LIFE!

DA: Tell us about the events, officer.
TRUJILLO: I was on patrol and got a call about a beer run at a convenience store and rushed over to follow the suspect's SUV and eventually stopped him. I then walked over and opened his door. He looked at me and I could sense that my life was in danger and I FEARED FOR MY LIFE!

DA: What do you remember most of all as you focused on the suspect's hands?
TRUJILLO: The tattoo of the star. I didn't know if it was the tattoo that corresponded to Los Vallucos, La Eme, El Syndicato, or any of those prison gangs. At the very moment I saw the tattoo, I FEARED FOR MY LIFE!

DA: What led you to believe that officer?
TRUJILLO: I saw him with a long gray object that I took to be a deadly weapon and I FEARED FOR MY LIFE!

DA: At what time did you feel justified in shooting the alcohol-crazed barrio suspect?
TRUJILLO: When I saw him look at me with those shifty eyes. I've seen that look before and my dad Rolando Trujillo Sr. who used to patrol 14th Street bars and keep those punks in line told me not to trust those shifty barrio types. He shot one, too. Now every time I see one I FEAR FOR MY LIFE!

DA: When you searched the car and looked for a deadly weapon, what did you find?
TRUJILLO: We found a screwdriver, a weapon of choice against a regulation 9 mm handgun by alcohol-crazed barrio thieves. One look at the screwdriver and I FEARED FOR MY LIFE!