APD releases bodycam footage of officer shooting man at Southwest Austin apartment

Police body-worn camera footage released Friday shows the moments when an Austin police officer shot a man after a disturbance at a Southwest Austin apartment complex earlier this month.

Shortly before 2 a.m. April 6, emergency responders received a 911 call reporting a disturbance inside an apartment at the Cliffs at Barton Creek Apartments, at 3050 Tamarron Blvd., an Austin Police Department press release said. The caller reported hearing sustained yelling and a person "breathing really hard," according to the 911 call, which was released concurrently with the body-worn camera footage. The caller did not know whether those involved in the fight were armed.

Three officers arrived at the complex at 2:06 a.m. and attempted to find the source of the disturbance. Officer Gabriel Walker Prado pinpointed the apartment and observed, through a sliding glass door that led to a patio, two men engaged in an argument inside the apartment. In the body-worn camera footage, Prado can be heard alerting two officers to the presence of "an elderly man and a younger man," who are heard shouting in the background.

The two officers approached the front door area, while Prado stayed near the patio, the footage shows. A fourth officer arrived, identified in the press release as officer Adam Reinhart. On his own bodycam footage, he is heard announcing the presence of police at the front door of the apartment, and about two seconds later, Prado is heard urgently yelling, "Hey, he's got a gun!"

The release said Prado observed that one of the men was holding a firearm, and the man approached the apartment's front door pointing the gun upward. Prado shot three times in quick succession, waited another few seconds and fired a fourth time, the footage shows.

According to the news release, Prado's bullets struck the gunman, identified as Avelino Medel II, who fell to the ground. The footage shows Prado telling him twice to "stop moving or I'll shoot you again," while pointing his gun at Medel. The footage cuts out a few seconds after Medel opens the front door.

Medel did not discharge his firearm, the release said.

The man with whom Medel was fighting, who was not identified by police, exited the apartment unscathed after the shooting, the release said. It is unclear where the man went and whether he was pursued by police for questioning.

Police took Medel into custody and gave him first aid. He was taken to a hospital for wounds that were not life-threatening and was released from the hospital the next day. No charges are pending for Medel or the other man, police said.

 Per Austin Police Department protocol, Prado has been placed on administrative leave, the release said.