PASADENA, Texas – A former Pasadena police officer has been indicted by a grand jury in the shooting of a man during a traffic stop in 2021.
Rigoberto Saldivar, who’s charged with one count of aggravated assault by a public servant, appeared Wednesday in a Harris County courtroom, where his bond was set at $10,000.
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Shooting of Randy Aviles
According to police, on Jan. 12, 2021, Saldivar conducted a traffic stop on a vehicle that had committed a red-light infraction. The stop ultimately ended with 35-year-old Randy Aviles being shot three times outside of an O’Reilly’s auto parts store in Pasadena. Aviles survived his injuries but filed a lawsuit claiming he’s suffered permanent damages to his arms.
After an extensive and collaborative investigation conducted by the Pasadena Police Department’s Internal Affairs Division and the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, it was decided that charges would be filed.
Aviles was no stranger to the law and records show he has prior arrests and convictions.
Saldivar, who was a 20-year veteran of the Pasadena Police Department at the time of the shooting, retired on July 9, 2021.
According to another lawsuit filed against the former officer and the City of Pasadena, it was not the first time he shot a person following a traffic stop.
Shooting death of Nathan Schenk
Documents show that Saldivar shot and killed Nathan Schenk on Nov. 21, 2018.
On that day, Saldivar pulled Schenk over after he ran a red light in the 6200 block of Pine Street at Jana Lane. The suspect vehicle continued traveling eastbound, turned southbound on Red Bluff Rd, and finally stopped in the parking lot of Hawk’s Bar, located at 4416 Red Bluff, documents state.
Schenk then allegedly exited the vehicle, failed to follow commands, and attempted to evade Officer Saldivar. During a foot pursuit, Saldivar deployed his Taser twice, which had minimal to no effect, police said.
According to the lawsuit, Saldivar then jumped on Schenk, cursing expletives, while the suspect allegedly begged for Saldivar not to hit him. When he had the chance, Schenk ran away from the officer again.
The lawsuit states Schenk did not strike or threaten the officer or any other person and did not display a weapon. Saldivar pulled out his gun, however, and shot Schenk twice in the lower back and once in his upper chest near his arm pit.
While Schenk was lying on the ground dying, Saldivar yelled at him, calling him a “mother f****r” and a “son of a bitch.” He also said, “Don’t you f******g move! I’ll shoot you again!” documents state.
During Schenk’s last moments, he allegedly told Saldivar, “I don’t have a weapon. I don’t have a gun. I don’t have a weapon.”
Schenk, who was 34 years old, was pronounced dead t 7:49 p.m.
No one has denied that Schenk ran the red light, but the lawsuit claims Saldivar went overboard, with excessive and unnecessary use of force.
The lawsuit states, “Officer Saldivar’s actions and objective unreasonableness, and City of Pasadena’s policies, practices, and/or customs, caused, were proximate causes of, and/or were producing causes of Nathan’s suffering and death and all other damages sought and/or referenced in this pleading.”
An autopsy conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences notes that Schenk was fatally shot as he was running away from the officer. It determined Schenk’s cause of death as “gunshot wounds of torso” and listed the manner of death as “homicide.”
An x-ray of Schenk’s’ body showed him still handcuffed, which had been done by another officer while he was dying on the ground, with one or more bullets still embedded in his body.
As required by law, the City of Pasadena Police Department filed a custodial death report with the Attorney General of Texas. The report also stated Schenk’s death was a homicide and described Saldivar’s actions as a “pre-custodial use of force.”
The lawsuit states that the reported findings prove Officer Saldivar used “unconstitutional, unreasonable force and thereby improperly and unconstitutionally seized and killed” Schenk. The report also made the following admissions:
- Decedent Display/Use of Weapons: No
- Attempt to injury others?: No
- Make suicidal statements?: No
- Barricade self or initiate standoff?: No
- Physically attempt/assault officer(s): Unknown
- Gain possession of officer’s weapon: No
- Verbally threaten other(s) including law: No
- Attempt gain possession officer’s weapon: No
The lawsuit states that, instead of disciplining Saldivar for his actions, the Pasadena Police Department provided Saldivar with a raise within a few months after Schenk’s death.