The Austin Police Department has released the body-worn cam footage related to the deadly November 15 officer-involved shooting in South Austin.
After reviewing the footage, CBS Austin has chosen not to show parts of the footage due to the graphic and violent content.
Per APD policies, body camera footage is supposed to be released within 10 days of a shooting involving one of its officers.
The incident occurred at 2216 South 3rd Street, near Fletcher Street and north of West Oltorf, just before 12:30 a.m. on Tuesday, November 15.
“There’s a guy on the left side of the duplex. [He] approached me earlier today saying that he saw two suspicious people earlier," a recording of the 9-1-1 call to Austin Police letting them know about a man, who they say, appeared to be paranoid and pacing outside his home holding a rifle.
According to APD, that man was identified as 33-year-old Rajan David Moonesinghe.
“He’s standing in the doorway of his house. Yup, you want this?" can be heard in the body cam footage.
In the video, you can hear Moonesinghe seemingly talking to someone and pointing the rifle inside his home. He then fires a shot.
“Oh, he just fired," says an officer.
Right at this moment, you can see Austin Police pulling up to the scene.
"Drop the gun," an officer is heard giving commands.
Immediately after the command, an officer fires his gun, hitting Moonesinghe. APD says the officer who discharged his firearm is 2-year veteran Officer Daniel Sanchez.
"It wasn't me. ****," Moonsinghe is heard in the Ring camera.
"Suspects down. Hands are up," an officer says.
Police then approach Moonsinghe while another officer, Stephen Merkert, checks to see if anyone was inside the home.
"Police! Is anyone in here," Merkert yells out. No one was found inside.
The officers then approached Moonesinghe who was on the porch of the home and immediately began CPR.
Moonesinghe was transported to a local hospital where he later died. No officers sustained injuries.
Per APD protocol, Officer Daniel Sanchez is on administrative leave during investigations into this case.
Johann Moonesinghe, older brother of Raj Moonesinghe and CEO of inKind, is speaking out after viewing the footage the day before it was released to the public in a statement saying:
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to view the police footage and security footage of the last minutes of my brother’s life. As difficult as that was, it was an incredibly important step towards finding out the truth of the events leading up to his murder by police on November 15, 2022. The video clearly shows that Raj never threatened the officers, he didn’t even know they were there. I’d encourage everyone to watch the videos being released today to make their own judgments. Thank goodness Raj had his Ring security camera on his porch because, without it, the police would have continued to lie about what happened that night. After watching the video, it is evident that the officer who shot Raj did this without identifying himself, without thinking, and before giving my brother a chance to explain who he was and why he was outside. Instead, he arrived without flashing lights or sirens, pulled out an assault rifle, took a hidden defensive position behind a fence 25 yards away, and killed my brother. He began firing before finishing his command to ‘drop your gun’ and continued to fire once Raj had dropped his gun and put his hands up. and continued to fire once Raj had dropped his gun and put his hands up. It’s clear from the security footage that Raj didn’t even know the police officer was there. His last words as he lay on the ground were ‘it wasn’t me. Instead of getting justice for Raj, the Austin Police Department continues with its attempts to cover up what happened. The security footage they released today is an edited version that intentionally removes the interaction that Raj had with his neighbor one minute beforehand where he told her there was someone in his house and yelled into his home, ‘I’m calling the police, get out of my house. It is beyond comprehension that the police acted this way. The police knew he was the homeowner concerned with a potential intruder. They shot first and asked questions later. As an Austinite myself, I’m outraged to think that these are the people tasked with protecting our community. Raj was a loving son who took care of our parents financially and the co-founder of a very successful tech company which we moved to Austin in 2018. We ask the City and the District Attorney to do their jobs and hold the officer accountable. Otherwise, these senseless shootings will continue and more innocent people will be shot and killed by Austin police officers.