PASADENA, Texas – A Pasadena police officer took deadly action against a man who pointed a gun at him during a traffic stop Thursday.
Authorities said it started with a routine traffic stop.
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Police said the man, identified as 44-year-old Marco Antonio Saavedra, drove a few blocks before pulling over during the stop. He then got out of his vehicle near the intersection of Spooner Street and Southmore Avenue, against the orders of the officer, police said.
Dashcam video of the shooting was released.
Saavedra then pointed a gun at the officer, police said, which was seen from multiple angles on dashcam and bodycam videos that were released by authorities.
In the videos, Saavedra is seen pulling over and almost immediately getting out of his vehicle. He ignores commands from the officer and then pulls what appears to be a gun and squats in a crouching position while pointing the gun at the officer.
The officer opened fire and shot Saavedra to death in the street.
Bodycam video of the shooting was also released.
Multiple shots were fired by the officer. With one of the last two shots he fired, he struck the passenger window of his own police vehicle.
It is not clear if Saavedra fired any shots back at the officer.
Pasadena authorities said Marc Adams, 40, is the officer who shot the man. Adams has been with the police department for 13 years. He has been placed on administrative leave, as is standard with officer-involved shootings.
Authorities said Adams is shaken up.
"He's obviously shaken up. Anytime an officer is placed in a position where he has to take somebody's life it's a stressful situation," Pasadena Police Department Asst. Chief Josh Bruegger said. "It's unfortunate the officer was placed in the position but, when the suspect points a weapon directly at the officer the officer really has no choice but to defend himself."
Police said the gun Saavedra had on him had been reported stolen.
Court records show Saavedra has a long criminal history, including evading arrest, three cases of aggravated assault of a family member and violating a protective order.
Saavedra had a warrant issued for his arrest in September 2017 for a charge of aggravated assault of a family member and a charge of violating a protective order.