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D.A. says it's possible the recent suspect killed by police died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound

Three Corpus Christi Police Officers are on paid administrative leave after a fatal altercation with a person of interest in a recent homicide.

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Three Corpus Christi Police Officers are on paid administrative leave after a fatal altercation with a person of interest in a recent homicide.

It happened on June 3 around 5 p.m. Investigators went to a home in the 2000 block of Rockford Drive to question a person of interest in the recent murder of Jose Aguilar. CCPD officials said that two detectives and at least one patrolman showed up to the home.

Police said a family member let them into the home and told them the person they were looking to question, Eric Galvan, was in the back bedroom. Once in the room, investigators said Galvan grabbed a handgun from underneath a pillow. They said they used a taser to try to disarm Galvan, but that did not stop him from firing the gun. At some point, the officers said they had no choice but to open fire on him. Galvan was taken to the hospital where he later died.

"Only after officers started losing control of the suspect firing rounds did they fire back at the suspect," Chief Mike Markle said. "I tell you, the national narrative, making our officers hesitant to protect their own lives because they don't wanna corrupt the media is problematic."

According to District Attorney Mark Gonzalez, it's possible that Galvan died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

We sent a list of questions to the police department concerning the shooting death of Galvan. One of the questions answered had to do with whether or not investigators had a warrant for Galvan or to search his residence?  Police said there was no search but rather a consensual contact. The detectives asked the homeowner for consent to enter the residence and it was granted. We also had another question about the scanner traffic.

Over the police scanner, we heard a directive telling officers on the scene to turn off their body cameras if they did not have a witness so we wondered why that happened? The police department said it's not uncommon for officers that are not actively involved in an investigation to turn off their cameras.

District Attorney Mark Gonzalez put out a press release over the shooting and said the individual was shot by one of the officers and may have also suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound as a result of the struggle over the gun with police. 

The medical examiner's office has confirmed that Galvan died of gunshot wounds. Once the investigation into the shooting is complete, it will be presented to a Nueces County Grandy Jury.

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