Chief: Slain student attacked officer with baton

SAN ANTONIO — University of the Incarnate Word senior Robert Cameron Redus was unarmed but was charging a campus police officer with his hand raised when he was fatally shot, authorities said Monday.

The early Friday off-campus shooting ended an “intense struggle” between the student and the “taller and much heavier” officer, Alamo Heights Police Chief Richard Pruitt said during a news conference as the case began to pick up nationwide attention.

Redus, 23, had taken Cpl. Chris Carter's baton away and hit him with it, the police chief said. Carter regained control of the baton before firing, officials said.

Authorities have not yet determined whether Carter was justified in using deadly force against Redus, a dean's list student from Baytown who was shot five times. One witness told police she and Redus had gone drinking and bar-hopping that night, Pruitt told the media.

During the six-minute confrontation, Carter told Redus 14 times to put his hands behind his back and told him three times that he was under arrest, Pruitt said, citing an audio recording that has not yet been released to the media. Carter told Redus to stop resisting 56 times, Pruitt said.

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Law enforcement officers investigate a crime scene where a 23-year-old man that was shot to death after 2:00 a.m. by a University of the Incarnate Word police officer after a traffic stop that ended in the parking lot of the Treehouse Apartments at Broadway and Arcadia Place in Alamo Heights. Lt. Cindy Pruitt of the Alamo Heights Police Department said the man struggled with the officer after the stop and was shot. An investigation of the incident is ongoing. less Law enforcement officers investigate a crime scene where a 23-year-old man that was shot to death after 2:00 a.m. by a University of the Incarnate Word police officer after a traffic stop that ended in the ... more Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Photo: JOHN DAVENPORT, SAN ANTONIO EXPRESS-NEWS Image 1 of / 23 Caption Close Chief: Slain student attacked officer with baton 1 / 23 Back to Gallery

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