Cops' O-The-Clock Actions Add Risk

Austin American-Statesman - 06/21/2021 Page : A01

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OFF-DUTY POLICING Austin’s Indeed Tower being sold California company will pay $580 million

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A California #rm is buying Indeed Tower, the newly completed 36-story high-rise in downtown Austin that is the city’s tallest o"ce tower, for $580 million. Kilroy Realty Corp., a publicly trad- ed real estate investment #rm, an- nounced the purchase. Local commer- cial real estate brokers said the sale shows Austin is a hot commodity for investors. The acquisition “will bring immedi- ate #nancial and strategic bene#ts to the company, including the opportuni- A memorial marks the spot where Alex Gonzales Jr. was fatally shot by an Austin police officer Jan. 5 on ty to grow earnings and create value Wickersham Lane. PHOTOS BY ANA RAMIREZ/AMERICAN-STATESMAN through additional lease-up, the cre- ation of a platform for future growth in the region and the enhancement of the company’s already strong tenant cred- Cops’ o!-the-clock See SOLD, Page 6A

actions add risk Children On-scene confusion, liability issues among dangers in shelters Tony Plohetski Austin American-Statesman | USA TODAY NETWORK

n the early morning hours of Jan. 5, o!-duty Austin police o"cer Gabriel Gutierrez su!er panic faced a split-second decision when he claimed 27-year-old Alex Gonzales Jr. pointed a attacks gun at him in a moment of road rage. h In the dark of night, with a loaded #rearm but Medical emergencies without the full armament of police equipment, the two-year o"cer could have retreat- reveal migrants’ stress ed,I described the car and given its license plate to 911 dispatchers before allowing uniformed o"cers to take charge. Or he could have forsaken his role as a private citizen to play the part of Julie Watson, Amy Taxin and an on-duty police o"cer, taking more aggressive steps to try to stop Gonzales as the situation Adriana Gomez Licon ASSOCIATED PRESS rapidly escalated in the ensuing moments. Paramedics were called regularly to treat children su!ering from panic at- By now, Austin knows the tragic outcome: Gutier- tacks so severe their hands would con- rez shot and injured Gonzales, who had his wife and strict into balls and their bodies would baby in the car, then called for more o"cers to shake. swarm the scene. As police footage shows, arriving The outbursts often occurred after o"cer Luis Serrato shot and killed Gonzales as he other children were taken away to be reached into the back seat, where his son was reunited with families, dashing the strapped into a car seat. The Gonzales family be- hopes of those left behind at the larg- lieves he was frantically trying to check on the in- est emergency shelter set up by the Bi- fant. den administration to hold minors Austin Police Department o"cials said investiga- who had crossed the U.S.-Mexico bor- tors found the gun that Gutierrez said was pointed at der alone. him, but o"cials haven’t said whether they believe The conditions described by a fed- Gonzales had the gun on him when the fatal shots eral volunteer who spent two weeks in were #red. His autopsy report has not been made May at the shelter at Fort Bliss Army public. Base in El Paso highlight the despera- “There is a series of irresponsible and reckless be- tion and stress of thousands of chil- havior that created the situation,” said attorney Brenda Ramos, left, comforts Elizabeth Gonzales in dren held at unlicensed facilities, wait- April where her son was killed by an Austin police ing to reunite with relatives. See OFF DUTY, Page 4A officer. Ramos’ son also was killed by an officer. Some had marks on their arms

See PANIC, Page 6A

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