- Corpus Christi Police Department’s Assistant Police Chief David Blackman talks about the city’s latest officer-involved shootings.
- Assistant Police Chief Blackman said officer-involved shootings are unpredictable.
- The cases are under investigation.
In the last week, there have been two officer-involved shootings in Corpus Christi that led to the deaths of two men. KRIS 6 spoke with Corpus Christi Assistant Police Chief David Blackman about these incidents and if the community should be concerned.
“Both of those are obviously still under investigation. I will say that the police department we spend a lot of time in the community dealing with crime issues. Unfortunately, no city is immune from random acts of violence. And both of these were random acts. They were unpredictable by the officers,” Blackman said. “And they happen to fall on the same week.”
The first shooting – we reported on – was on Monday, October 21st, on Leopard Street near the city detention center. Two officers were in the midst of paperwork to leave a prisoner when 22-year-old Anthony Rodriguez Jr. was seen shooting in the neighborhood. Rodriguez was seen by witnesses with a handgun that he turned on the officers and began firing at them. One of the officers returned fire, striking the suspect twice. He later died at the hospital from his injuries.