Thomas Villanueva asks El Paso County coroner not to seal autopsy reports

A man who was in the wrong place and the wrong time is now looking for answers.

Thomas Villanueva was shot on February 5 after crossing the street into this apartment complex. El Paso County deputies and officers from other agencies apart of the Auto Theft Task Force were trying to arrest a suspected car theft, 19-year-old Manuel Zetina when gunfire erupted. Deputy Micah Flick and the suspect were both killed, three other officers were shot.

Villanueva had just bought lunch across the street when he was shot in the spine. He’s now paralyzed from the chest down.

In the months following the shooting, answers on what happened during the shootout have been scarce, but the El Paso County Coroner has said he will try and seal Flick’s and Zetina’s autopsy reports, saying it will cause more damage to the families who lost someone.

As a result, Villanueva held a small protest Wednesday morning in front of the coroner’s office. He and six other people held signs as a part of what they called a peaceful movement. Villanueva says he spent most of the morning with his shirt off because his chest is still sensitive to touch. “My skin is so sensitive in the middle it just hurts so much that I can’t even wear a shirt sometimes,” he said.

He wants the reports to be open to the public so that he may get answers on why he was shot, and who shot him. Derik Dubbel, Villanueva’s cousin said, “he’s dealing with serious physical pain and to add insult to injury, he doesn’t know why or any of this happened.”

He claims he didn’t know police were ambushing a suspect when he went back home.

After an hour, the group moved to the corner of Vermijo Ave. and Tejon Street right outside the El Paso County Courthouse. Tom Villanueva, Thomas’ father says, “we think that by not sealing these records there might be some kind of answers we’re seeking for Thomas.”

It’s still unclear when more information on the shooting will be released. The deadly force investigation conducted by the Colorado Springs Police Department was completed months after the initial incident and now lies in the hands of the district attorney.

The El Paso County Coroner’s told KRDO today they have no comment on Wednesday’s events.