This story was originally published on Thursday, March 26.
A copy of the audio recording that captured the final moments of University of the Incarnate Word student Robert Cameron Redus, who was shot five times at close range by UIW police officer Christopher Carter during an off-campus traffic stop, has been released by the Alamo Heights Police Department to local news outlets (see transcript below).
Details from the recording of those early morning hours of Dec. 6, 2013 have been circulating, but this is the first time that the public has had access to the entirety of the recording.
The Express-News has posted an hour-long track on Soundcloud of the audio, captured through a microphone on Carter’s uniform. Warning: the recording contains graphic language. Click here to listen.
The Redus family has been requesting that the audio be publicly released for more than a year while the family’s lead attorney, Brent Perry, obtained and listened to a copy just a few weeks ago. A wrongful death civil suit brought by the family against Carter and UIW is still pending in state court, but a Bexar County grand jury issued a no bill, or a decision not to pursue criminal charges against Carter, on Tuesday.
Below is a transcript of the encounter provided by KENS 5 reporters Dillon Collier and Bailey McGowan. Expletives have been redacted.
The transcript reveals that Redus, who according to the autopsy report was legally intoxicated, was at first compliant with Carter’s instructions, but then struggled with Carter several times before he was apparently choked by Carter. Redus was unarmed. Carter repeatedly told Redus to “stop resisting” and fired six shots. Redus was pronounced dead at the scene, the parking lot of his near-campus apartment.
Redus was 5’9? tall and weighed 130 pounds, states the Redus family’s lawsuit, “Carter is reported to be over 6? tall and weigh over 250 pounds.” Their difference in size and Redus’ intoxicated state, Perry has said, means Redus “did not present a significant threat” to Carter.
UIW released a statement through its attorneys Thursday evening that praised the decision to release the audio recording. “UIW hopes that the release of this recording will put to rest much of the misinformation disseminated by persons characterizing the recording,” states the release from lead attorney Laurence S. Kurth. “We are confident that any objective listener will conclude Cpl. Carter acted properly.”
Download UIW’s statement here.
The Rivard Report has submitted an open records request and will update this story as more information become available.
*Featured/top image: Cameron Redus looks out over a lake near Cerro Catedral in Argentina. Photo by Everett Redus.
Related Stories:
Read more about Cameron Redus’ life, death, and family’s lawsuit here.
‘You’re Scaring Me’: Why the Redus Case Should Unsettle Us All
Grand Jury Clears UIW Cop in Student Slaying
An Open Letter to District Attorney Nico LaHood
Redus Family: Recording of Shooting ‘Discredits’ UIW’s Story
