SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man shot in a 2022 police shootout is on trial for that incident.
Celedino Saldaña was 18 when he was a potential suspect in a shooting.
On Aug 5, 2022, SAPD officers located him and tried to pull him over, but he refused a traffic stop.
Defense attorneys said that after a short chase, Saldaña was shot by police 20 times as officers fired close to one hundred rounds.
Saldaña, who was left paralyzed from the waist down, is now on trial after being charged with attempted capital murder of a police officer and two charges of aggravated assault against a public servant.
In court on Tuesday, SAPD Officer Jose Claire testified about the night of the incident.
Claire was the officer who tried to initiate the traffic stop of Saldaña.
Claire said after a short chase, Saldaña hit a median, causing his car to eventually stop working.
He said what happened next occurred in a matter of seconds.
“I got out of my vehicle, and I believe I said something along the line, “Don’t do it,” and I saw a muzzle flash,” Claire said. “I heard a gunshot and next thing I know, I was hit in the face with something. With adrenaline, I didn’t know if I got shot in the face.”
The driver’s side door of Claire’s SAPD unit was hit by a bullet.
On Tuesday, the jury watched videos from Claire’s dashcam and body-worn camera as well as dashcam video from another officer.
The videos show Saldaña quickly exiting his vehicle, firing one shot, and trying to run away before he is shot by officers and goes down.
In the body-cam footage, you can hear officers yelling for Saldaña to put down his weapon. Claire told jurors that Saldaña was still holding his gun and when he fired it again, officers resumed shooting toward him.
The defense, in opening statements, said police used excessive force and admitted that Saldaña shot once but said he never meant to hurt anybody.
If Saldaña is found guilty, he faces anywhere from five to 99 years, or life in prison.
Testimony resumes Wednesday morning in the 227th district court.
Below are the dashcam and body-camera videos that were shown in court.
WARNING: The images are graphic and will be disturbing to some.
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