SAN ANTONIO – A 36-year-old man who was shot and killed Thursday by a San Antonio police officer had a cellphone in his hand and wasn't armed with a weapon, Police Chief William McManus said Friday.
McManus said at a news conference that Officer John Lee feared for his life and shot Antronie Scott once in the chest.
The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. Thursday outside the Wood Hollow Apartments near Isom and East Ramsey roads.
McManus said undercover detectives with SAPD's Repeat Offenders Program had been watching Scott, who was wanted on two felony warrants, one for narcotics and one for possession of a firearm.
The undercover detectives called for a uniformed officer to make the stop, McManus said. He said that department policy does not allow undercover officers to not make stops, because they are not in uniform and not in marked vehicles.
McManus said Lee, who was in uniform, pulled behind Scott's vehicle in a marked patrol car with its lights on and both men exited their vehicles.
WATCH: Live report from shooting scene
Lee said Scott spun around toward Lee with something in his hand. Lee shot once, hitting Scott in the upper torso.
McManus said Friday that Scott was holding a cellphone when he was shot. A gun was not found at the scene.
A woman inside Scott's vehicle was not hurt, McManus said.
McManus said there is audio of the shooting, but no video because of the way the vehicles were positioned. McManus described the audio recording on Thursday night.
"The officer says 'Show me your hands' very quickly. And then almost before he even finished saying it, one shot is fired. And it struck the individual in the upper torso," McManus said.
KSAT 12 News has requested a copy of the audio recording of the shooting.
McManus said Friday that the Police Department's shooting team is investigating before the case is sent to the District Attorney's Office for review.
Read Thursday night's report on KSAT 12
“Our officer-involved shooting team does a very, very good job in digging up the facts and laying it out exactly how it happened," McManus said at Friday's press conference.
McManus said officers canvased the area around the shooting scene Thursday night to talk to witnesses.
He said the department wants to "make sure all the I’s are dotted and all the T’s are crossed, especially in this climate of officer-involved shootings."
Mayor Ivy Taylor released a statement after meeting with McManus.
Today I had the opportunity to meet with Chief McManus regarding the tragic and deadly officer-involved shooting that occurred Thursday night. The Chief and I discussed my concerns and he answered questions brought forward by the NAACP and the Baptist Ministers’ Union. The Chief assures us that a full investigation is already underway by the Internal Affairs Unit and that the shooting will be reviewed by the District Attorney’s Office. I trust in the process and, as always, urge anyone with information to please come forward.
McManus said the department wants to be transparent with the public and “make sure we get it right the first time.”
Lee, a 10-year veteran, is on administrative duty during the investigation.
Terri Burke, executive director of the ACLU of Texas issued the following statement late Friday night.
While we still don’t have all the details of Thursday night’s tragedy in San Antonio, what we do know is that Antronie Scott posed no threat to Officer Lee in the moments before his life was senselessly ended. Law enforcement agencies in Texas and across the country have some serious soul-searching to do. It’s not enough to insist on body cameras, training and a revision of use-of-force policies. What's required is a sea change in a law enforcement culture that shoots first and asks questions later. The execution of unarmed men of color is a tragically routine trend in American policing that has absolutely got to stop.