-San Antonio 9-1-1.
Do you need police, fire, or EMS?
-I need a police officer. -To what address?
-2350 Field Wood. -Okay.
Have you already called, ma'am?
-No, I just called right now. Somebody has just shot --
I think that my dad just got shot.
-Okay. By who?
-I don't know. I have no idea.
I just heard, like, four gunshots fired.
There's a hole through my door, and he told my dad not to move
before he kills him or something.
But I --
-It's a story we've been following all morning long --
an officer shoots and kills a man
on San Antonio's west side.
Police say a woman was also shot by an ex-boyfriend.
There are three scenes total that has SAPD's chief of police
asking a lot of questions.
-But what they do know is this is where a police officer shot
and killed a man at that man's home.
What they're still trying to figure out
is why that police officer was here.
-This is a story of either a hero
who saved a woman and three kids
or a cop who unnecessarily killed a father of four.
A close look at the case shows the high stakes
faced by departments
forced to rehire officers fired for misconduct
and the dilemma faced by police chiefs
struggling with whether to return
these cops to the streets.
It begins on a night in July 2012, when Michael Garza,
an undercover officer for San Antonio's gang unit,
got a text message that changed his life.
A woman he knew needed a favor.
Five hours later, officers found him covered in blood,
standing next to the body of his lover's ex-boyfriend.
-In the July night in 2012, we do know that Officer Garza
was a plainclothes police officer
serving in our gang unit.
We do know that he was drinking that night,
and he had quite a few text exchanges with his girlfriend,
Abigail Hernandez.
-The heart of the case lies in the details.
At 8:00 p. m.
Officer Garza was conducting surveillance
on a suspected drug safe house.
With his city-issued phone, he got a message.
It was his girlfriend's friend, Abigail Hernandez.
The two had been sleeping together.
At 10:30, the officer picked Hernandez up from her apartment
and dropped her off at the Thirsty Horse Saloon.
Garza then headed back to the area under surveillance.
To blend in, he drank a Bud Light.
In some cases, officers are allowed to drink on the job,
as long as they have permission from their supervisors.
But that night Garza did not.
At 1:30 in the morning,
Hernandez sent him another text message.
Garza, still on duty, wrote back.
He picked up Hernandez, and the two left the bar at 2:00 a.
m.
When they arrived at Hernandez's gated apartment complex,
her ex-boyfriend, Alfred Aragon, was waiting outside.
Hernandez and Aragon had a 1-year-old son
and a tumultuous relationship.
Earlier that night, Aragon had sent her dozens of messages,
some begging her to get back together.
An argument broke out,
and Aragon tried to open the locked door of the pickup.
Garza and Hernandez left.
They believed Aragon would no longer be in the parking lot
and returned a second time.
Aragon confronted the couple again.
This time he was armed.
Hernandez and Garza tried to escape,
but as they waited for the gates to open,
Aragon followed their truck, firing his .
9-millimeter pistol.
The police scanner captured the chaos.
-Micron and Culebra.
Micron and Culebra.
I got one shooting at my vehicle.
I got one hit right now.
-Aragon fired at least four times before driving away.
Hernandez was shot in the stomach and arm.
-And instead of driving to a hospital, Officer Garza
then pursued the boyfriend to his home.
-A high-speed chase began.
Garza followed Aragon to his home on Field Wood,
about two miles away.
-He's got one at gunpoint.
-5342, we got an officer-involved shooting.
He's okay.
The officer's passenger is hit in the stomach.
Go ahead and step it up.
-Garza fired his city-issued Glock at least nine times,
striking Aragon three times --
in the back, the arm, and the foot.
Shortly afterwards, he was pronounced dead.
Aragon's pistol was never recovered.
He was unarmed when shot by Officer Garza.
-This is Leroy Carrion, SAPD homicide.
I'm at University Hospital.
-Later, Hernandez spoke to investigators
from her hospital bed.
-What's going through your mind? What are you thinking?
-The woman told investigators her ex-boyfriend
didn't have a violent past,
but she and Garza
feared for the safety of her son inside the home.
-His dad was freaking -- like, lost it.
-To Hernandez, Garza
did what anyone would have expected of a cop --
save lives.
The head of San Antonio's police-officer union agrees.
-You're just trying to take the lady home
'cause she was a friend of yours,
and all the sudden, out of the shadows,
somebody starts shooting at you.
Or you've got bullets ripping through your cab
of your pickup truck, and you're like,
"What the hell's going on?"
Now it's about survival at this point.
-Garza was known for his decision making under pressure
and was twice named officer of the year.
But Chief McManus questioned his decision making that night.
He wasn't alone.
Aragon's family, too, were horrified
after learning details of what happened.
-Alfred was a father of four.
He had his own business.
He was looking forward to the future.
And, you know, him shooting at them or him approaching them
with a gun, that was wrong.
But that's why we have, you know, our justice system.
The cop, he played police officer, side boyfriend,
judge all in one night, all in ten minutes.
-The investigation took months.
A grand jury declined to pursue murder charges
against the officer.
But internal affairs found Garza had violated
seven departmental rules,
including lying to homicide investigators.
The city argued Garza should have taken Hernandez
to the hospital
and waited for backup instead of pursuing the shooter.
-The chief made the decision that he should be removed
from the department,
and I supported the chief's decision.
-Garza fought to get his job back through an appeals process
known as arbitration.
During his job appeal, officers that knew him testified
to Garza's ability to catch criminals
and the importance of his deep-undercover work,
the chief, on how his reckless decision
making brought dishonor to the badge.
-I was flabbergasted when I received the word
that an arbitrator had overturned the termination
and had directed that Officer Garza be reinstated.
I believe that his actions were not becoming of an officer
that we would want to have
within the San Antonio Police Department.
I shared that with the chief.
He strongly believed that Officer Garza should be removed,
and we both said at the time, when he was reinstated,
that he would not be returned to patrol,
as we felt
that he was not capable of serving our community well
and was a liability to the city.
-The arbitrator agreed there was misconduct
but believed Garza's record earned him a second chance.
The city decided Garza would never patrol the streets again.
-Basically, he's been rubber- gunned, and the chief has said,
"Okay, I have to take you back,
but I don't have to put you back.
By virtue of my authority,
I'm gonna put you somewhere in a hole somewhere,
and you're never gonna wear a uniform again,
and you're never going to be a policeman again."
-This picture here framed is -- -Those that worked with Garza
disagree with the city's decision,
including veteran detective Eddie Gonzales,
who worked with Garza for years,
taking illegal guns off the streets.
-I think there would have been some lives lost that night
if Mikey had not have acted
and taken the action that he did.
And I supported him fully, and I think the majority
of the rank-and-file officers
also support him
and the action that he took that night in saving lives.
He's one of the best coppers I ever worked with,
and I still would like to work with him today.
-San Antonio officials said Garza declined
to comment for the story.
He remains on the force, assigned to desk duty.