ALTO, TX (KTRE) -
Members of the Alto community addressed the city council this evening to try and see if there is anymore information available about the January officer-involved shooting.
Alto citizen, Herman Martin asked the council and Alto police chief, JJeremy Jackson what the status was of the Texas Rangers investigation into the death of James Griffin.
Paul Robins, a representative for the Texas Municipal Police Association representing the Alto Police Department told the council and community what he knew about the status of the case.
Robins said, "I did speak with the, communicated with the Texas Ranger today and he has submitted the case to the district attorney and it will be presented to the grand jury at 1:00 on March 25 is the indication that I got from the Texas Ranger."
Since the shooting there have been allegations within the Alto community that race was a factor and many Alto residents spoke to the council this evening about their experiences with the Alto Police Department.
The fatal shooting
incident occurred on Jan. 23. According to DPS spokeswoman Jean Dark, Griffin,
48, of Alto, attempted to rob the Pick N Go convenience store located at 100 S.
Smith confronted Griffin on Highway 69, where an exchange took place.
A clerk
at the convenience store said Griffin started to leave the store with a pack of
cigarettes that he hadn't purchased. When the clerk said, "Hey, man, what about
the money," Griffin allegedly turned around, lifted up his shirt, and showed
the clerk a long machete.
One witness at the
scene, Emmanuel Milton, told the East Texas News he saw Smith shoot Griffin
once and then several more times after he fell.
"I took off and ran up
the street to let the police know that [Griffin] was off his meds, and that he
was an access patient," Milton said.
Immediately after the
shooting, it was a tense situation in Alto. In addition to the Alto Police
Department, deputies from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office, and DPS
troopers were on the scene as well as hundreds of people gathered at the scene,
some of them yelling angrily at authorities.
At an Alto City Council
meeting in February, Flores told city officials that he collected background information,
spoke to witnesses, and reviewed the scene of the fatal shooting incident. He said
before he can conclude the investigation, he has to wait for the final autopsy and
toxicology reports to be released.
During the meeting,
Jackson responded to Alto residents' allegations that they had seen Smith in
uniform and riding along with a sergeant with the police department by saying
that the officer was brought back into the office to help with administrative
duties.
Jackson said he didn't
realize Smith coming back to work would cause such a disturbance. "Since then, he has been placed back on
administrative leave, and he will not be back even in the office, he said.
Griffith's niece,
Angela Jefferson, was one of several people who spoke at the city council
meeting. She told city officials that she thought the shooting was excessive.
"It's awful when you
see your family member lying there on the ground," Jefferson said. "I was there
before the first responders arrived."
"From the Texas Ranger's
investigation, I hope they'll see it for what it was," Herman Martin said at
the meeting. "It was a murder. That's what I hope they find in their
investigation."
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