AUSTIN Texas – The Travis County Sheriff’s Office said it is investigating a shooting that involved a deputy on Friday.
The backstory:
The shooting happened on May 9 in a parking lot in the area of the 5100 block of FM 620.
TCSO says that around 9:10 a.m. it got a call from the Austin Police Department that APD was tracking a stolen vehicle and the vehicle may have been headed into TCSO’s jurisdiction.
“Our dispatch received a call from Austin Police Department, advising us that they were tracking a stolen vehicle that may make its way into our jurisdiction,” said Kristen Dark, with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office.
“Unfortunately, vehicle theft is common. We work hand in hand with all the municipalities in our jurisdictions. So we get notifications like this pretty routinely,” Dark added.
It did not take long for a deputy to find the stolen car in Randall’s parking lot off of FM 620 near Steiner Ranch. There, she confronted the driver.
“When we have a fellow law enforcement agency that lets us know that a stolen vehicle may be coming into our jurisdiction, then our deputies get the information about the vehicle and keep an eye out for it, and that’s what happened in this case,” said Dark. “This deputy was able to encounter the vehicle.”
According to TCSO, the 17-year-old tried to get away and crashed into a tree in the grocery store parking lot, which was followed by a struggle with the deputy. Then, he grabbed a pistol and shot himself in the leg.
The teen was later identified as Graham James Freeman, of Pflugerville.
“The deputy who was involved is not harmed, and we will be spending the next several hours looking at the evidence and working out what happened here,” said Dark.
The on-scene investigation confirmed TCSO deputies did not fire their weapons during the arrest.
The Texas Rangers will not be the investigating agency. TCSO will investigate.
Freeman is pending charges for Unlawful Use of a Motor Vehicle, Prohibited Weapon, Evading, and Aggravated Assault on a Peace Officer.
The Source: Information from the Travis County Sheriff’s Office