AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Police Department provided more details about the Sept. 10 shooting in north Austin, including the name of the man who was shot by officers, the agency said in a news release Monday.
That man was identified as Franklin Earl Miller, 59, according to police.
A call came in around 10:59 p.m. to Austin 911 for a report of a man, later identified as Miller, who was “attempting to break into their business and pulling on the doors,” at 1724 West Anderson Lane, the release said. The caller told dispatch they were watching on cameras and saw “Miller holding a rock.” The caller also reported Miller appeared to have a “gun in his waistband.”
Then, around 11:11 p.m., officers arrived on the scene and saw Miller, but he was “non-compliant with the officers’ direction.”
On-scene officers “continued de-escalation efforts” with Miller. At one point, he was seen “gripping a pistol in his hands,” and officers repeatedly told Miller to “put down his firearm,” but he was “non-compliant,” according to police.
Approximately 14 minutes after trying to get Miller to comply with officers’ commands, police said “he raised the gun he was holding in the direction of officers” around 11:25 p.m. That is when officers discharged their department-approved firearms at Miller and then began life-saving measures on him immediately after, the release said.
Austin-Travis County EMS arrived on the scene around 11:30 p.m. and pronounced Miller dead at 11:33 p.m., according to police.
A total of five officers discharged their department-approved firearms, the release said. Those officers’ time with the department “ranges from four months to six and a half years of service.” Additionally, a sixth officer “deployed his department-issued pepperball launcher at the same time shots were fired.” That officer has four months of service with the department, according to police.
“APD will conduct two concurrent investigations into this incident: a criminal investigation conducted by the APD Special Investigations Unit in conjunction with the Travis County District Attorney’s Office and an administrative investigation conducted by the APD Internal Affairs Unit, with oversight from the Office of Police Oversight,” police said in the release.
Officers captured this incident on body-worn cameras, and the video will be released within 10 business days, per APD protocol.
Anyone with any information on this case can call APD’s Special Investigation Unit at (512) 974-6840 or Capitol Area Crime Stoppers at (512) 472-8477, the release said. Tipsters can also submit an online tip via the Crime Stoppers website.