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Murder of Benjamin Marconi

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Shooting of Benjamin Marconi
DateNovember 20, 2016 (2016-11-20)
TimeBefore 11:40 a.m.[1]
LocationSan Antonio, Texas, U.S.
Deaths1
ConvictedOtis Tyrone McKane
ChargesCapital murder
VerdictGuilty

On November 20, 2016, Benjamin Marconi, a detective with the San Antonio Police Department, was shot to death in San Antonio, Texas. In the shooting, a motorist stopped his car, got out, and shot and wounded Marconi while the latter was sitting in his marked patrol car in front of the department's headquarters, writing a ticket for another driver during a routine traffic stop.

Marconi, who was shot twice in the head, later died at a hospital, while the shooter fled in his car. The gunman, identified as Otis Tyrone McKane, was arrested the next day after a massive manhunt, and charged with capital murder. The shooting, which occurred on the same day as three other unrelated attacks against police officers elsewhere in the U.S., increased already high concerns about the safety of law enforcement.

Shooting

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The shooting occurred in front of the San Antonio Police Department headquarters before noon. Detective Marconi was sitting inside his patrol car, writing a traffic ticket for a motorist he had pulled over. Another motorist pulled up from behind him, walked out of his car, approached Marconi's side window, and shot him in the head. He then reached through the open window, shot Marconi in the head again and then fled in his car. The shooter was believed to have had no relationship to the original motorist who was pulled over. Marconi, a 50-year-old officer who had been with the department for 20 years, later died at the San Antonio Military Medical Center at 12:22 p.m.[1][2][3][4] He was the first San Antonio police officer to die in the line of duty since 2013.[5]

Aftermath

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Investigators believed the shooter was targeting police officers in general.[6] The shooting took place on the same day as three other attacks against police officers in St. Louis and Gladstone, Missouri, and Sanibel, Florida; these shootings were unrelated to one another and the San Antonio shooting, and resulted in serious but non-fatal injuries.[7][8]

At the time of these shootings, there was already an "alarming spike in ambush-style attacks", and the total number of attacks on uniformed officers was reportedly up in 2016.[9][10] This was also the 60th shooting homicide of a police officer in 2016, already representing a significant increase from 2015's total of 41 officers shot and killed.[11] San Antonio Police Chief William McManus compared the killing to the recent mass shootings in Dallas, Texas, and Baton Rouge, Louisiana.[11]

Perpetrator

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Otis Tyrone McKane, aged 31, was identified as the shooter.[12] He was arrested on the day following the shooting, after a massive manhunt, while riding in a car owned by his wife, Christian Chanel Fields, with an unidentified woman and a child sitting inside, on Interstate 10.[13][14][15] McKane had visited the San Antonio police headquarters and briefly spoke to a clerk four hours before the shooting.[6] He had a criminal record, including a charge of assault causing bodily harm to a spouse, recorded in 2012.[16] He married Fields the morning after the shooting, and was arrested later that day.[15]

Following his arrest, McKane was charged with capital murder[12] and jailed on a US$2,000,000 bond.[17] While being escorted out of the police station to be taken to Bexar County Jail, he claimed to reporters that he had been upset at the court system for not allowing him to see his son, and also issued an apology to Marconi's family.[16][18]

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The trial was first scheduled for early 2019.[19] Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the trial was postponed until July 12, 2021. This was the first death penalty case in Bexar County in five years.[20] On July 28, 2021, McKane was found guilty of Marconi's murder. After the verdict was announced, McKane removed his tie, unbuttoned and untucked his shirt and struck a bailiff attempting to handcuff him in the face with his elbow before being tackled out of the courtroom by several other deputies.[21] On August 7, 2021, McKane was sentenced to death.[22]

Reactions

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Governor Greg Abbott condemned the killing and proclaimed that "attacks against law enforcement officers will not be tolerated in Texas and must be met with swift justice." Mayor Ivy Taylor also condemned the killing, called for patience in the ongoing investigation, and extended her condolences to Marconi's family.[2][3] President-elect Donald Trump called Marconi's family to offer his condolences.[23] Other law enforcement agencies sent tributes for Marconi on social media.[24]

On the day after the shooting, Governor Abbott urged the Texas Legislature to pass his proposed Police Protection Act, which would classify attacks against law enforcement officers as hate crimes. The act received support from James Pasco, executive producer of the Fraternal Order of Police, who also expressed concern about the San Antonio killing and the three other shootings in Missouri and Florida, and blamed the erosion of trust in law enforcement on politicians, activists, and the media.[8]

The San Antonio Police Department made a Facebook post announcing McKane's arrest, which was accompanied by his mug shot.[25] County Judge James Oakley, the "chief legislator and executive"[26] for Burnet County, Texas, who does not preside over criminal courts,[27] controversially re-posted the mug shot with the comment "Time for a tree and a rope...", which was taken as a reference to lynching.[25][28] Oakley deleted the comment shortly afterwards[28] and apologized for his choice of words.[29] He told the Huffington Post that he did not intend to make a racially charged comment,[25] and later described his intent for the post as being to reflect on "the cowardly crime of the senseless murder of a law enforcement officer"[30] and that his view of McKane "is the same regardless of ethnicity."[27]

Chief McManus announced that, as a result of the shooting, San Antonio police officers would not be conducting traffic stops alone.[1] The four shootings on November 10 prompted some police departments to send their officers out in pairs until further notice.[12]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "SAPD officer shot, killed near police headquarters". KENS. November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  2. ^ a b Grinberg, Emanuella; Marco, Tony (November 20, 2016). "San Antonio officer shot to death during traffic stop". CNN. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Jordan, Miriam (2016-11-20). "San Antonio Police Officer Fatally Shot While Writing Ticket". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  4. ^ Elizalde, Elizabeth (November 20, 2016). "San Antonio cop fatally shot in head near police headquarters, chief says". The New York Daily News. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  5. ^ Shadrock, Chris (November 20, 2016). "History of SAPD officers killed in line of duty". KSAT-TV. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  6. ^ a b Silverstein, Jason (November 21, 2016). "'Uniform was the target' in ambush shooting of San Antonio police detective, chief says; suspect arrested". The New York Daily News. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  7. ^ Domonske, Camila (November 21, 2016). "1 Police Officer Killed, 3 Officers Injured In Separate Shootings Sunday". NPR. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  8. ^ a b Bacon, John (November 21, 2016). "Suspect arrested in fatal cop shooting in San Antonio". USA Today. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  9. ^ "Suspect in detective's fatal shooting upset over custody battle". CBS News. Associated Press. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  10. ^ Porter, Steven (November 21, 2016). "Two Sunday attacks add to recent uptick in fatal shootings of US police". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  11. ^ a b McLaughlin, Eliott (November 21, 2016). "Officers injured, slain in what appear to be targeted shootings". CNN. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  12. ^ a b c Eaton, Emilie (2016-11-21). "Suspect arrested in ambush killing of San Antonio police officer Benjamin Marconi". mySA. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  13. ^ Jacobo, Julia; Hayden, Michael Edison (November 21, 2016). "Suspect Arrested in Shooting Death of San Antonio Detective". ABC News. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  14. ^ Grinberg, Emanuella; Visser, Steve; Marco, Tony; Blau, Max (November 21, 2016). "San Antonio police announce arrest in officer's killing". CNN. Retrieved November 21, 2016.
  15. ^ a b Gonzalez, John W. (November 22, 2016). "Exclusive: Accused cop killer Otis McKane married in San Antonio after ambush, before arrest". My San Antonio. Retrieved November 27, 2016.
  16. ^ a b Park, Madison; Grinberg, Emanuella (November 22, 2016). "San Antonio police shooting suspect offers apology". CNN. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  17. ^ Salter, Jim; Warren, David (November 22, 2016). "Suspect in fatal police shooting upset over custody battle". New Jersey Herald. Retrieved November 23, 2016.
  18. ^ "Suspect in fatal San Antonio police shooting upset over custody battle". Chicago Tribune. November 22, 2016. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  19. ^ "Man accused of killing Detective Benjamin Marconi makes court appearance". KSAT-TV. 1 August 2018. Retrieved 10 January 2019.
  20. ^ Hernandez, Erica (2021-04-13). "Trial date set for man accused of killing San Antonio Police Det. Benjamin Marconi in 2016". KSAT. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
  21. ^ "Texas Man Convicted of Killing Officer, then Attacks Bailiff".
  22. ^ "S.A. Cop-killer Otis McKane gets death sentence". 6 August 2021.
  23. ^ Bradshaw, Kelsey (November 22, 2016). "Donald Trump called son of slain SAPD Det. Benjamin Marconi, family says". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved November 22, 2016.
  24. ^ "San Antonio police detective shot, killed outside of HQ". USA Today. KENS. November 20, 2016. Retrieved November 20, 2016.
  25. ^ a b c Golgowski, Nina (November 24, 2016). "Texas Judge Suggests Lynching Black Suspect, Denies It's About Race". The Huffington Post. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  26. ^ Jillson, Cal (2015). "Local Government in Texas". Texas Politics: Governing the Lone Star State. Routledge. pp. 228–229. ISBN 9781317553359.
  27. ^ a b Hall, Katie (November 22, 2016). "Burnet County judge apologizes for 'time for a tree and a rope' comment". Austin American-Statesman. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  28. ^ a b Li, David K. (November 23, 2016). "Judge apologizes for suggesting 'cop killer' be lynched". New York Post. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
  29. ^ Tsiaperas, Tasha (2016-11-24). "Texas judge apologizes for lynching comment about suspect in shooting of San Antonio cop". Dallas News. Retrieved 2023-07-04.
  30. ^ Mendoza, Madalyn (November 23, 2016). "Texas judge apologizes for 'tree and a rope' comment aimed at S.A. cop killing suspect". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved November 24, 2016.
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