Killeen: Officer involved shooting during mental health call remembered one year later
KILLEEN, Texas (KWTX) - One year after the officer involved shooting that killed Patrick Warren Sr., his son, Patrick Warren Jr. is still in disbelief.
“Everything is so vivid for me,” he said.
“For the first five or six months since my dad died, I’ve relived it every single day. So, it’s still fresh even with the body-cam footage released on YouTube.”
Since the shooting, the Killeen Police Department released the body-cam video from Officer Reynaldo Contreras, revealing he called for backup, gave multiple warnings and even tased Warren before using his gun.
The video and evidence was turned over to the Texas Rangers who then gave it to the Bell County Grand Jury. The jury later decided no prosecution would take place against Officer Contreras, something that Warren Jr. claims is unacceptable.
“I want him to be remembered as someone who should still be here,” he said.
“I’ve seen people in positions that make minimum wage handle mental health situations better than that police officer.”
Contreras still remains with the department in an administrative role since April 2021. Regardless of the footage that’s been released, Warren Jr. says his father’s death should be a prime example of why there should be extensive mental health training for police officers.
“I would love to be able to roll out a law for my dad, help create special units and special training to deal with mental health because of what my dad experienced,” he said.
“I would love to be an advocate for mental health and just continue pushing that. I feel like there’s a lot of change that needs to happen.”
KWTX reached out to the Killeen Police Department asking if any changes have happened with mental health training for officers and received the following response:
“The Killeen Police Department is committed to the safety of our community and continues to work with our community partners to improve our responses to mental health incidents. We understand that this problem is not only recognized locally but throughout the nation.”
Copyright 2022 KWTX. All rights reserved.
