KENS-TV, San Antonio

A Texas tabloid said Saturday that it is "looking into the future prospects" of publicizing San Antonio Police officers' names and addresses in response to a deadly officer-involved shooting.

Stephanie Zarriello, the editor-in-chief of The San Antonio Observer, said Antronie Scott was "unjustly murdered," when a police officer shot him last week. Zarriello said shootings of citizens by officers go unpunished because the officers remain anonymous.

"Like Ku Klux Klansman with hoods, (officers) do everything they can in order to protect their identities for fear of being brought to justice," Stephanie Zarriello said during a news conference Saturday.

Scott, 36, who was wanted for felony warrants, was being followed by an undercover police officer Thursday night. Police said when Scott got into a car in a parking lot on Sahara Street, a uniformed officer was called in to arrest him.

According to the department, the officer saw something in Scott's hands that he believed was a gun. He shot Scott once in the chest, killing him. The object in Scott's hand turned out to be a cell phone. No gun was found at the scene.

The San Antonio Observer called a news conference and spoke on behalf of Scott's family on Saturday.

Unarmed man shot and killed by police in San Antonio

Zarriello said the Observer is toying with the idea of publishing the names and addresses "of all San Antonio Police Department officers" to protect the community.

"Just as the names and addresses of sex offenders are publicized in order to protect the public from their wicked behavior, we feel that our community has the right to the exact same level of protection," Zarriello said.

KENS-TV contacted the San Antonio Police Department for a comment about the Observer's plans. A spokesman didn't address that issue specifically but did say the department is committed to conducting an unbiased and transparent investigation.

San Antonio Police Chief William McManus held a press conference Friday to address the shooting.