Austin Police Chief Art Acevedo announced Wednesday afternoon that Senior Patrol Officer Leonardo Quintana will face a 15-day suspension.
Quintana faces suspension because he violated APD policy by failing to activate his dashboard camera, not because of his actions in the shooting death of an 18-year-old in East Austin.
Back in May, Quintana shot and killed Nathaniel Sanders and wounded Sir Lawrence Smith during an early morning incident outside the Walnut Creek Apartment complex.
Acevedo said, other than failure to turn on his camera, Quintana acted within policy. Quintana’s suspension begins Thursday and will be without pay.
Austin's police chief also handed down a 3-day suspension for Officer Mohammad Siddiqui, who also failed to activate his dashboard camera.
Acevedo said a lot of research went into his decision and that a citizen review panel came to the same conclusion.
Controversy surrounding the event has many in the East Austin community questioning whether Quintana's use of force was necessary.
In the early morning hours of May 11, after gun shots were reported in the area, Quintana located a vehicle in the Walnut Creek parking lot. Shortly after, two other police officers arrived on the scene.
The officers found the Sanders and Smith asleep in the vehicle. According to Quintana, when he awoke Sanders, Sanders tried reaching for a gun in his waistband, after which point Quintana reached for his own gun and fired.
Dashboard camera video from one of the three police vehicles is the only existing video.
Concerned community members have voiced unease over the incident, asking that Quintana be released from the police department.
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Police Chief
News 8's Bob Robuck was at the press conference with Police Chief Art Acevedo and has more on what his decision means.
 
Community Response
News 8's Reagan Hackleman has reaction to Acevedo's decision from the Austin Police Association and the Sanders' family attorney.
Investigation Details
Robuck tells us what else came out of the investigation.
The Response
Hackleman has more details from the police union and the Sanders' family attorney.
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In July, a Travis County grand jury decided not to indict him.
After the initial Travis County District Attorney's Office investigation, APD responded to community pressure and conducted its own internal investigation into the incident.
The results of that internal investigation were reviewed by a citizens' panel, which then asked the city to conduct an independent review of APD's internal and criminal investigation. That independent report, released last month, called the Austin Police Department's investigation "biased."
Acevedo had said the report confirms the competency of APD's criminal investigation, though questions of "bias" in the subsequent internal investigation are legitimate.
He then announced he would come to a final decision, regarding Quintana and the two dashboard cameras that were not turned on, on Nov. 7, however that decision came a little early.
Acevedo said, in response the incident, the department has amended and changed the dashboard camera policy, leaving little wiggle room for officers. The changes are effective immediately.
