San Marcos police shot and killed a man. His family wants the bodycam footage
SAN MARCOS — Malachi Williams' family wants people to know that the 22-year-old died "unhoused, but not unloved."
On Thursday evening, the family spoke to the more than 80 people who had gathered for a candlelight vigil at San Marcos City Hall and later across the street at the city library. Malachi Williams' sisters recalled his "dorky" humor and poor skateboarding abilities. A family friend spoke of meeting him during the George Floyd protests. Malachi Williams' mother, Shanta Miller, recalled her son's braininess. She embraced several family members at a time. All were in tears.
Malachi Williams died on April 11 after he was shot by a San Marcos police officer. Police said they killed the 22-year-old after he ran toward a business with customers outside while brandishing a knife. His family has demanded immediate release of the involved officer's body-worn camera footage to increase transparency in the ongoing investigations. They also want answers as to why Malachi Williams, who suffered from mental health difficulties, was not offered health services when they said police cleared his camp a week ago.
Justice, family members said, will come in the form of information.
"Know the truth and the truth will set you free," said Pastor Wayne Miller, Malachi Williams' grandfather.
Narratives clash, questions remain
In a Monday video statement, San Marcos Police Chief Stan Standridge said an officer first encountered Malachi Williams the night of the shooting at a convenience store, responding to a report that he had followed two individuals to the outside of their home and threatened them with knives. That officer attempted to arrest Malachi Williams but retreated out of the store after the young man refused to put his hands behind his back and approached the officer. The officer had spoken to the victims and believed that he could be armed. Once outside, police said, Malachi Williams fled.
Standridge said the officer made two attempts to shock Malachi Williams with a Taser while sprinting after him for a quarter mile, but that the discharges were "likely" unsuccessful because of the speed at which the officer was running and the distance between the two. The officer, police said, shot Malachi Williams as the young man ran toward people outside a business while brandishing an 8-inch kitchen knife.
In the same statement, Standridge said the Police Department will not release body-worn camera footage until after the officer is cleared or criminal proceedings conclude due to city policy. He also announced the involved officer is set to return from administrative leave next week, a move that the family said it opposes until the investigation is complete.
The Police Department did not respond to the American-Statesman's questions about the involved officer returning to duty.
San Marcos criminal justice advocacy group Mano Amiga said police are misrepresenting a need to keep the video from the public.
“To say that they cannot release it due to an investigation is a cop-out,” Mano Amiga activist Sam Benavides said. “If (Standridge) has nothing to hide, he would release that video.”
The city's "Body Worn Camera Release Policy" allows for exceptions to its policy of not releasing video if "determined by the Chief of Police or other relevant department head."
The Austin Police Department has a policy of releasing bodycam footage typically within 10 business days of a shooting by an officer.
In Hays County, that has not always been the case. Bodycam footage for the 2022 correctional officer shooting of Black pretrial inmate Joshua Wright has yet to be released, according to Wright's grandmother.
More: Former Hays County jailer sued for allegedly shooting, killing inmate Joshua Wright
Family and community members also said they believe Malachi Williams' death represents a failure of police to connect individuals with the mental health services they need. Benavides said police cleared him from his camp behind a Thai restaurant a week before his death.
San Marcos police said they previously encountered him during "homelessness calls."
A fight ahead
In a video played at the vigil, a teenage Malachi Williams described himself using three objects on a desk. A chess rook represented his desire to move nimbly yet straightforwardly toward a career as a banker; a book ("Business Plans for Dummies") signified his love for reading since an early age; and an Xbox 360 controller showed his affinity for video games.
“Man, he had a big head. I got to say that one more time,” his older sister, Kay Williams, said after the video, laughing through tears. She referred to an image of her brother's actual head. “But that’s because he was so smart.”
Kay Williams said her brother finished his home schooling at 14. He attended community college for a year with her in Houston. He never finished and eventually came home to San Marcos to work. Her brother lost his apartment after struggling to find work during the pandemic, she said.
Shanta Miller said that her son's strong desire "to be free" and his mental health struggles led him to prefer to live unhoused despite family invitations to live at home.
Before his camp was cleared, Malachi Williams lived on East Hopkins Street near Interstate 35 in San Marcos, where he spent nights behind a Thai restaurant and parts of his day in front of a gas station convenience store.
Shanta Miller said her son was slender and boyish-looking and weighed about 130 pounds at the time of his death. This, along with the trainings she gave him about how to interact with police, leaves her with a string of questions about what missing details might exist about her son's death.
“I really want to be asleep because that’s the only time I get to see him anymore. And when I wake up, I’m angry because I don’t get to see him,” Shanta Miller said.
To get answers from law enforcement, though, she'll have to remain vigilant, she said. There's "a fight ahead."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Family of San Marcos man killed by police demand bodycam footage
