San Marcos residents demand transparency after police shooting of Malachi Williams

Dozens of residents urged the San Marcos City Council on Feb. 18 to press for transparency and accountability after the April 2024 fatal shooting of 22‑year‑old Malachi Williams.

At the meeting’s start, Ashley Prevost, a San Marcos resident, said the police department’s narrative conflicted with bystander video and accused officials of manipulating evidence. “What happened here wasn’t just a failure of policy, it was a failure of humanity,” Prevost said. Multiple speakers later described bystander footage that they say shows officers failing to provide medical aid while Williams bled and was handcuffed.

The city’s public commenters named Officer Alex Ventura as the officer who fired the shots, said the department’s body camera footage cuts out at the…