AUSTIN (KXAN) — Wednesday’s premature lifting of a shelter-in-place order as an armed suspect was still at large near a south Austin elementary school happened while the city’s emergency communications system was undergoing a planned maintenance upgrade, according to the Austin Police Department.
The manhunt for suspect Brandon Thompson started around 4 a.m. on Sept. 10 in the 700 block of Azie Morton Road, when bodycam video shows Thompson shoot a woman – Kay Smith – in the head, and then shoot officer Adam Reinhart, who was talking to Thompson and Smith about a stolen vehicle officers found. Smith was pronounced brain-dead that afternoon.
Police confirmed Tuesday afternoon that Smith was taken off life support on Sunday. Chief Lisa Davis expressed her condolences to her family during last week’s press conferences.
Officer Reinhart, a six-year veteran, was shot in the abdomen but is expected to recover.
The communication breakdown started, police said, when a dispatcher – who was beginning their shift – called a patrol supervisor on scene who was not able to verify whether the shelter-in-place order was still active.
“Prior to confirmation, the shelter in place was lifted,” APD said in a statement. “APD immediately realized the cancellation had been sent prematurely, quickly there after an additional public safety alert was sent.”
Because the emergency communications system was undergoing maintenance, “APD communications personnel were not in the same location, which led to the miscommunication.”
Still more questions
Thompson was at large from roughly 4:10 a.m. to 8 a.m., and was spotted near Barton Hills Elementary School around drop-off time.
Council Member Ryan Alter held a meeting with parents Tuesday morning to listen to concerns.
“A lot of feelings, a lot of feelings, a lot of raw emotion that’s very justified, and a lot of questions out of that,” Alter said. “The biggest concern I have is… we had a single individual who was able to lift the shelter-in-place order. I think we need to err on the side of caution, and if that means while there is some kind of safety measure in place, that two or three people have to give the go-ahead before that is lifted, I think we should do that.”
The school district said last week it made the decision not to delay or cancel school when they saw the alert saying the shelter in place was lifted, and that district staff didn’t learn that was sent in error until 7 a.m., and made the decision not to delay because students were already on their way in.
The school district confirmed an AISD police representative was on scene with APD around 6:30 a.m., and we’re still waiting for clarification on why the district said it still didn’t know until 7 a.m. that Thompson had not been found yet.
Police gave the official and correct all clear around 9 a.m., after Thompson was shot by the owner of a house he broke into.
Thompson currently faces two charges, according to court records:
- Attempted Capital Murder of a Peace Officer
- Burglary of a Residence
The department expects to release more information on the case Wednesday.
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