KYLE — An officer-involved shooting occurred on Monday afternoon at Ascension Seton Hays Hospital, according to a press release issued by the Hays County Sheriff’s Office.
The incident occurred as a Hays County corrections officer was guarding the door of a pretrial detainee, later identified as 36-year-old Joshua Leon Wright.
Allegedly, in an attempt to escape, Wright assaulted the officer and ran on foot, the release stated. The officer then discharged his firearm and shot the inmate. Though life-saving measures were initiated by hospital staff, Wright succumbed to his injuries.
Texas Department of Public Safety spokesperson Sgt. Deon Cockrell told the Hays Free Press that use of force may have been justified in regards to a pre-trial defendant, particularly if the incident involves a felon or someone charged with a violent crime.
“I don’t know if he was a felon or a violent felon or if he just had misdemeanor charges,” Cockrell said. “If he was a violent felon, it may be justified. If he’s not … I just don’t have enough details to tell you that.”
According to HCSO, Wright was being held in the county jail for the following charges: unauthorized use of a motor vehicle, bail jumping, failure to appear, reckless driving, criminal mischief and evading arrest and detention.
As per Hays County Sheriff’s Office policy, the Texas Rangers were called to the scene to assist with the investigation of the officer-involved shooting.
Cockrell noted that calling in the Texas Rangers to assist with an investigation is “a common thing.”
“A lot of agencies want to be non-biased and have an outside look at the investigation,” he said. “We are leading the investigation at their request.”
The corrections officer was placed on administrative leave pending the investigation as per HCSO protocol.
Hays County Judge Ruben Becerra issued a statement Tuesday afternoon, urging the HCSO to provide answers to reports circulating that Wright had his feet shackled at the time of the incident, was shot in the back multiple times and while a taser was allegedly available, it was not deployed by the officer.
“Alongside my fellow Hays County residents, I am saddened by the loss of life that occurred at Seton Hospital in Kyle on Monday … and believe that the people of Hays County deserve urgent answers,” he said.
Becerra also requested that the sheriff’s office release all relevant body-camera footage from the fatal shooting within 10 days of the in-custody death to “importantly enhance public trust and understanding of the context surrounding this tragic loss of life,” he said.
“We’re not the lead investigator … it’s incumbent upon us to respect [the Texas Rangers’]investigation. And if we were to release something that would impede or hurt their investigation, we would be doing them a disservice by doing that,” said HCSO Deputy Anthony Hipolito.
“We are getting a lot of questions and rightfully so … but we also have to respect their investigation and not release anything that would hurt it or detract from what they’re doing. There’s just nothing else we can release since we’re not really doing the investigation.”
