Death by Cop- 2024
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Marta Lamar Prater
Case # :1140
Gender : Female
Age : 49
Race : Latinx
Date : 04/14/2024
Location : Unknown
City : Balcones Heights
County : Bexar
State : Texas
Agency : Balcones Heights Police Department
Officer(s) :Not Disclosed
Cause of death : Gunshot
Event : Tased 3x and killed for “loitering with homemade weapon”
Open records summary :
Marta Prater, 49, an apparently unhoused woman with a known history of mental health issues, allegedly arrived at a property and was told to leave. Police arrived and tried to force her to take her belongings and tried to arrest her for loitering. Police shot her with a taser three times. She picked up what police describe a “homemade weapon” consisting of a pair of scissors on a rope and swung it at police, breaking a patrol car window. Police state she wore "ten layers of clothing" and they could not tase her and therefore shot and killed her. Her only weapon was the described scissors on a rope. Police gave lengthy media interviews and detailed explanations but failed to provide BWC or dashcam footage collaborating the narrative.
