Family questions fatal Denton police shooting of 26-year-old at pickleball court
A family is questioning whether deadly force was necessary as Texas Rangers review body camera footage and the circumstances surrounding the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man at a Denton pickleball center on Sunday.
On Monday, Aaron Guevara sat at the very spot where his older brother lost his life the day before.
"They did try to talk to him," Aaron Guevara said. "I don't know how long they tried to talk to him. I don't know what their de-escalation was."
Police responded to 911 calls: man reportedly intoxicated and threatening officers
Tennis and pickleball matches were being played just steps away. Most people were unaware of the deadly shooting that killed Arian Guevara on Sunday.
That afternoon, police responded to 911 calls about a man believed to be intoxicated. Denton PD says two officers found the man holding a metal rod, threatening to use it.
Crystal Sparks said she told her son, Adrian Guevara, to leave her home on Sunday after he refused to hand over a prescribed drug he was taking.
"So I said, 'If you're not going to give it to me, then you need to leave,'" said Sparks. "He said, 'All right, I'm out.'"
Police say Adrian Guevara ran toward officers. One officer used his taser. The other used his gun. He was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
"You know, use your training. But you don't have to use deadly force," said Sparks. "You know, you didn't have to shoot to kill. If you're going to shoot, you didn't have to shoot to kill."
Family shares his fight with addiction, mood-altering medication
Aaron Guevara said his brother struggled emotionally. He had recently been released from jail and was clean from drug addiction, but he was taking a prescribed medication that altered his moods.
"It wasn't him," said Aaron Guevara. "It was just... and being intoxicated. He wasn't here. He wasn't on Earth. He was just somewhere else ... But I know that if that one didn't work, the other cop definitely should have pulled out his other taser, and he should have used that one, and see if that will work first. Instead of pulling out his gun."
Denton police have not identified the officer who shot Adrian Guevara.
