Editor’s note: This video is from yesterday’s coverage of the trial.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — As the trial continues in the deadly conduct case for APD Officer Daniel Sanchez, an APD sergeant who investigated the shooting this stems from will return to the stand Friday.
In 2023, a grand jury indicted Sanchez in the 2022 deadly shooting of 33-year-old Rajan Moonesinghe. Sanchez was one of three officers who responded to a 911 call reporting Moonesinghe walking around his home with a rifle. Surveillance footage played in court Thursday shows Moonesinghe telling a neighbor he thought someone was in his house.
Follow live updates from the courtroom at the link below.
During opening statements, Sanchez’s attorney Brad Heilman revealed an autopsy report found cocaine in Moonesinghe’s system and a BAC of .33.
“That’s a dangerous situation,” he said.
Prosecutors are arguing this was a case of excessive force, and Moonesinghe was not harming or going to harm police.
Moonesinghe’s family has also filed a wrongful death lawsuit. Moonesinghe was a tech entrepreneur living in south Austin. The lawsuit includes a call for additional de-escalation training and incentives for officers who successfully de-escalate situations.
“We want change,” Moonesinghe’s brother Mark said when KXAN spoke with him about the lawsuit.
The first witness to testify was the State’s use-of-force expert, who walked through the shooting step-by-step and said, “I think Officer Sanchez panicked and made a tragic mistake.”
When Sanchez was indicted, APD issued a statement saying he acted in accordance with his training and that the department would stand by him. His attorney mirrored the department’s training sentiment and said Sanchez perceived a deadly threat on the scene.
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