© screen grab/KGNSCesar Cuellar
The Laredo Morning Times reported on Monday that two female officers responded to a suicide attempt at around 11 a.m. The department said that the officers opened fire after "repeated commands to the individual who was armed with a handgun." The man was identified as 25-year-old Cesar Cuellar, a Webb County sheriff's deputy.
Cuellar's mother later told KGNS that officers overreacted. "Don't shoot, don't shoot, don't shoot, please, please, please. It's my son," the mother recalled telling the officers, according to a translation provided by the station. "Both of them were pointing at him. My son was like this with the gun pointed down, not saying a word. He was surprised, he was frozen. He didn't say a word. They had scared him."
"They shot him, they shot him once and then it took a while and after another boom again. It wasn't continuous but my son never lifted his gun. Never," she insisted. "They shot him without having to, not one reason." The woman said that her son would not have justice until the Laredo officers had their "guns and badges taken away."
In a statement, Laredo Police Chief Raymond Garner promised that there would be a full investigation into the case. "The Laredo Police Department respectfully sends the family, friends and colleagues of Mr. Cesar Cuellar Jr it's most sincerest condolences," Garner said. "The Laredo Police Department is committed to conducting a thorough investigation into this case."
"The Texas Rangers will also be conducting an independent investigation into this case to further ensure that all facts and evidentiary findings of this tragedy will be collected in the most thorough and transparent manner possible."
Apparently the police decided that he was not up to the task and so decided to "help".