Texas officer acquitted of assault in fatal 2019 shooting

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas police officer has been acquitted on an assault charge related to the 2019 fatal shooting of a woman with a history of mental illness after the two struggled over his stun gun. A jury on Tuesday found Baytown Officer Juan Delacruz innocent of aggravated assault by a public servant for the May 2019 shooting death of Pamela Turner in the parking lot of an apartment complex where they both lived in suburban Houston. Prosecutors had argued Delacruz, who is Hispanic, was not justified in using deadly force against Turner, who was Black, questioning whether he had been in danger. But the officer’s attorney told jurors Delacruz feared for his life and he only shot Turner in self-defense after she used his stun gun against him.