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David Salinas

Age : 32

Gender : Male

Race : Latino/a/e

Date : 07/14/2021

Location : 6500 Monroe Boulevard

City : Houston

County : Harris

State : Texas

Agency : Houston Police Department

Officer(s) :Manuel Salazar, Nestor Garcia

Cause of Death : Gunshot

Event : Killed by police during arrest attempt

OPEN RECORDS SUMMARY :

On 07/14/2021, at approximately 7:35 p.m., Houston Police Department Vice Division officers requested that Gang Division Crime Reduction Unit officers stop a Nissan connected to an undercover prostitution operation. Officers Manuel Salazar and Nestor Garcia located the vehicle, which was driven by 32-year-old David Anthony Salinas, and activated their emergency lights. Salinas continued driving away while police pursued. Approximately 20 seconds after police attempted the stop, Salinas crashed into a concrete support pillar while attempting to turn beneath the Gulf Freeway at 6900 Monroe Road. The collision disabled the Nissan and deployed its airbag.
Salazar positioned the police vehicle beside the Nissan’s driver-side door, preventing Salinas from opening it. Salazar and Garcia approached from opposite sides with their guns pointed into the vehicle and repeatedly ordered Salinas to show his hands. Body-camera footage shows Salinas raising his empty hands several times and then lowering them or moving them out of the officers’ view as he shifted inside the damaged vehicle. Salazar repeatedly yelled for Salinas to stop reaching, while Garcia announced that Salinas was reaching. Both officers then fired into the Nissan, striking Salinas. Paramedics transported him to Clear Lake Regional Medical Center, where he died. Police recovered a handgun from the driver-side floorboard beneath the steering wheel.
Houston police released body-camera recordings from Salazar, Garcia and responding officers on 08/12/2021. The footage showed Salinas displaying his hands intermittently while the officers shouted overlapping commands and warned one another about crossfire before shooting him. Salazar and Garcia had each served with HPD since 2016 and were assigned to the Gang Division.
Salinas’ widow, Brittany Salinas, his mother, Nelda Cordova Salinas, and his estate filed a federal civil-rights lawsuit against Salazar, Garcia and the City of Houston. The lawsuit alleged excessive force, failure to provide medical assistance, inadequate training and supervision, state-created danger and violations of the Texas Tort Claims Act. The family’s account stated that Salinas had stopped at a gas station and was speaking by telephone with his friend Jason De La Cruz before police began following him.
A federal district judge dismissed the lawsuit with prejudice, ruling that Salazar and Garcia were protected by qualified immunity. Brittany Salinas appealed. On 05/23/2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit reviewed the body-camera recordings and affirmed the dismissal. The appellate court ruled that the officers could reasonably have believed Salinas presented an immediate threat when his hands repeatedly disappeared from their view inside the vehicle. The court also dismissed the claims against Houston, finding no underlying constitutional violation and ruling that the city retained sovereign immunity from the state-law claims.

SOURCE LINKS :

https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/Houston-police-release-body-worn-footage-of-man-16383102.php
https://www.houstontx.gov/police/nr/2021/jul/nr071521-2.htm
https://www.fox26houston.com/news/houston-police-release-video-from-deadly-shooting-of-man-by-officers-in-july
https://www.click2houston.com/news/local/2021/08/12/graphic-videos-houston-police-release-body-camera-footage-from-deadly-officer-involved-shooting-in-southeast-houston-in-july/
https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca5/23-20617/23-20617-2025-05-23.html