Police In Texas Won't Release Dashboard Video In Fatal Shooting Of Mexican Immigrant

Authorities in a Texas town this week reneged on an earlier pledge to release dashboard camera footage from a fatal police shooting of an unarmed Mexican national.

The Grapevine Police Department previously said the footage from the Feb. 20 shooting of 31-year-old Ruben García Villalpando would likely be released by the end of this week. But on Thursday, the department said the video would not be released at the request of the Tarrant County district attorney's office.

"It's evidence in a pending criminal investigation, so they don't want to potentially poison any jury pool by releasing evidence," police Sgt. Robert Eberling told BuzzFeed News. "We certainly would like to be in a position where we could release that video."

In a statement, the district attorneys office said due process requires that evidence not be released to the public while there's an ongoing investigation. However, Eberling said Villalpando's family was allowed to view the video at the request of the police chief.

The shooting of Villalpando, together with police shooting death of another Mexican immigrant in Pasco, Washington , has drawn criticism of the Mexican government.

Villalpando was shot by Grapevine Police Officer Robert Clark following a brief high-speed pursuit on a highway.

The Grapevine Police Department said Villalpando pulled over to the side of the highway and exited the vehicle with his hands up. Clark ordered him not to move, but Villalpando walked toward the officer with either his hands up or on his head.

Villalpando then walked to the front bumper of Clark's police car, out of the camera's view, authorities said. Clark continued to tell Villalpando to get to the back of his car before the officer opened fire, striking Villalpando twice in the chest.

Clark has been on administrative leave as the investigation into the shooting is carried out.

On Thursday, the Grapevine Police Department addressed some possible explanations for Villalpando's actions the night he was killed that had been reported by local media, "including a previous high-speed chase and a prior arrest for DWI, and a fear that he would be deported."

"Officer Clark had no way of knowing Mr. Villalpando's nationality at the time the traffic stop was initiated and it may not have been evident on a highway in the late evening," the department said in a statement.

Because the shooting occurred outside Grapevine city limits in the town of Euless, the local police department there was conducting a criminal investigation and will turn over its findings to the Tarrant County district attorney's office.

The attorney for Villalpando's family, Domingo García, could not be immediately reached Friday, but in a statement to the Star-Telegram he said the police department was finding "excuses to hide the truth."

"Misinformation and failure to release the tape show the clear intent to hide the real truth from the public," Garcia told the Star-Telegram. "If a regular citizen had shot a unarmed person, that person would be arrested and be in jail pending a grand jury determination. Why is Mr. Clark not being treated the same way?"