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SAPD officer describes vehicle firing on patrol unit, pursuit and shots fired at church parking lot
Summary
Officer Philip Himas testified that while parked in a church lot on O'Connor Road he heard a vehicle rev, saw a muzzle flash and was fired upon, then returned fire at a white SUV that later crashed. He identified multiple radio, dash and photo exhibits admitted into evidence.
Officer Philip Himas, a patrol officer with the San Antonio Police Department, testified in detail about an officer-involved shooting that began after he and a probationary officer were parked in a church parking lot near 14335 O'Connor Road.
Himas said he had been on the night shift and was finishing paperwork when a white SUV drove into the lot, "revved" and began to move toward the patrol vehicle. "I would say within 30 to 40 feet, that's when I see a muzzle flash and I hear a shot," Himas told the jury. He said he and the other officer bailed from the vehicle, he drew his weapon and "started shooting at the car." He testified the SUV later crashed after accelerating and then left the immediate area; Himas gave a last-known direction to dispatch.
Himas described the turmoil and his mental state on the stand: he said he immediately thought of his family and of the probationary officer riding with him. "My wife was pregnant at the time," he said.
The officer identified numerous court exhibits. The court admitted State's Exhibits 111 and 112 — recordings Himas described as containing his radio transmissions and showing his identifying marks. He also identified and the court admitted State's Exhibits 106–110 and 113 as photographs of him, his equipment and the scene; State's Exhibit 113 included an image he pointed to as a muzzle flash. Himas testified he initially described the vehicle over the radio as resembling a Honda Pilot because he remembered chrome on a center emblem, though later at the scene officers located the suspect vehicle — a Nissan — at a nearby residence on Buckhorn Drive.
Himas described the tactical decisions he made: he said he attempted to move the patrol vehicle so it would not be a stationary target, yelled to his partner to "bail, bail, bail," and, after hearing gunfire and seeing the muzzle flash, took cover and engaged the SUV to suppress the perceived threat. He said he conducted a tactical reload and inspected his duty belt and magazines in the immediate aftermath.
Multiple officers and detectives arrived, conducted medical and safety checks and took witness statements; Himas said he prepared a supplemental report and provided a signed statement dated 05/22/2022. The court admitted the transmission and scene footage and multiple scene photos without objection.
Ending
Himas was excused after cross-examination and after viewing video and photographic evidence to refresh his memory; the transcript records the court recess at the close of proceedings for the day.
