Police use of lethal force leaves one dead

BROWNSVILLE — One Brownsville resident is dead after he attempted to stab a police officer during a lengthy standoff, according to police Chief Carlos Garcia.

Ricardo Moreno, 60, was killed Tuesday evening at his residence on 1634 East Van Buren as a result of police gunfire after he lunged at officers and stabbed one with a kitchen knife, Garcia said.

Officers were initially looking for a stabbing suspect by the name of Jaime Sanchez, who was listed as living at 1703 East Van Buren, Garcia said. After police were unable to locate the suspect at the residence, dispatch informed them of a call that claimed the suspect had entered the residence at 1634 East Van Buren.

When the officers approached the house after 9 p.m., they saw someone inside sitting on a couch, Garcia said.

"There was a possibility that Jaime Sanchez was inside, and we didn't know if he had hostages," the chief said.

When officers attempted to enter the house, Ricardo Moreno got up from the couch and charged at them wielding a large kitchen knife, Garcia said. The officers backed off and called for the department's tactical team.

"At that time, we suspected that Jaime Sanchez was inside," Garcia said. "We also knew we had to secure Mr. Moreno in order for our officers to continue the search for Sanchez."

Garcia said a crisis negotiator was brought to the scene to attempt to bring a peaceful resolution to the situation.

"The suspect never acknowledged our attempts to contact him, not a word," the chief said. "We utilized a lot of discipline and escalated the use of force a bit at a time."

Garcia said members of the tactical team fired canisters of gas in four separate attempts to flush out Sanchez and Moreno.

After the gas failed, a tactical officer entered the house and began a search for the suspects.

"Mr. Moreno was in a bedroom," Garcia said. "When officers got to the door, he got up with the knife in hand."

The chief said officers then fired on him using non-lethal rounds, commonly called "rubber bullets" and "beanbags." Four beanbags and three rubber bullets struck their target.

"(Ordinarily) one or two of these rounds is enough to make any individual compliant," Garcia said. "They didn't have any effect on him."

When it appeared that Moreno was setting the knife down, one of the officers rushed him with a ballistic shield in an effort to pin the man down so other officers could restrain him, the chief said. The tactic failed when the heavyset Moreno pushed the officer aside and stabbed a second officer.

"He was wearing a tactical vest and luckily it didn't go through," Garcia said of the stabbed officer. Three officers nevertheless responded by firing on Moreno with conventional rounds, striking him three times in the arms and chest area.

"This is a very unfortunate incident, but our officers utilized a lot of discipline," Garcia said. "They have a difficult job, and at the time, we needed to secure Moreno to continue with our search for Jaime Sanchez."

The three tactical team officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave and will undergo counseling to help them cope with their reactions to the shooting, Garcia said.