BEXAR COUNTY, Texas – The Bexar County Sheriff’s Office released body camera footage on Tuesday of a man approaching deputies with two knives moments before a deputy shot him on the far West Side last month.
The nearly 10-minute video shows footage from BCSO deputies Steven Calva, Frank Diaz and Jason Garces during the June 23 encounter with Danh Thanh Dinh in the 8400 block of Knapp Rise, near Ranch View and Culebra Road.
Watch the BCSO video below:
The video included audio of two 911 calls from residents reporting Dinh, who they said was holding a knife and attempting to enter a home with the weapon. One caller reported her husband had a gun, but the dispatcher asked her to tell him to go back inside as deputies were already en route.
Upon arrival, the deputies attempted to make contact with Dinh, who was standing in front of a house while holding a knife in each hand, according to the footage. Calva and Garces positioned themselves across the street and gave multiple verbal commands for Dinh to put down the knives.
Calva’s body camera footage shows him holding his firearm while the deputies attempted to speak with Dinh before the shooting. At first, Dinh was not visible in the video, but a deputy could be heard over the radio saying he was standing near the doorway of a home.
“Hey, brother. We just want to find you some help, man. Come on. What’s your name?” one of the deputies said in the video.
The video shows Calva remained silent with his firearm drawn for about 15 seconds before asking Dinh for his name again.
“What’s your name, brother? Just talk to me. We just want to find you some help,” one of the deputies said.
“Hey, put the knives down for us, man. Put them down,” another deputy said.
“We don’t want anybody getting hurt, brother. Come on,” another deputy said.
About five minutes and 50 seconds into the footage, the deputies can be heard describing the knives Dinh was carrying as dagger knives and “pretty big knives.” One of the deputies also noted Dinh appeared to have blood on his back.
“Hey, brother, look, we just want to find you some help, man. OK? That’s all we’re here for. Let us help you. What’s going on?” the deputy said in the video.
Dinh disregarded the commands and jumped off the porch about seven minutes into the video. According to BCSO, Dinh began to approach the deputies while holding the knives “in a threatening manner.”
“Put the knives down. Just put them down. Hey, look. Put the knives down,” one deputy said.
“Don’t do that. Stay back. Don’t you come here with those knives. Don’t you come here,” another deputy said. Moments later, shots can be heard in the video as Dinh collapses.
Dinh was still across the street from the deputies when Calva opened fire, shooting six rounds at him, the footage shows. It’s unclear how many times Dinh was struck by gunfire.
Dinh was taken to a hospital in critical condition. He has since been released from the hospital and was taken to the Bexar County Adult Detention Center. He was charged with two counts of aggravated assault against a public servant, court records show.
Calva, Diaz and Garces were placed on administrative leave consistent with BCSO policy, the sheriff’s office said. Calva is a 16-year veteran with the sheriff’s office, Garces has 2 years of BCSO service and Diaz has been with the sheriff’s office for 10 months.
The shooting remains under investigation by the BCSO Criminal Investigations Division, the Public Integrity Unit, the Internal Affairs Unit, and the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office Civil Rights Division.
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