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Unarmed and handcuffed man shot and killed by El Paso police while in custody

Warning: The video below contains graphic footage.

By JC Sevcik
An El Paso police officer shoots a handcuffed man. (Photo: El Paso Police Department)
An El Paso police officer shoots a handcuffed man. (Photo: El Paso Police Department)

EL PASO, Texas, June 19 (UPI) -- The city of El Paso released video footage Thursday of an El Paso police officer shooting and killing an unarmed and handcuffed man. The incident occurred more than a year ago.

The video shows Daniel Saenz, a 37-year-old bodybuilder, shirtless and handcuffed, being dragged through the hallways of a jail by an officer and a jail guard.

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The video starts with Saenz already bleeding from his head -- an injury sustained when he "struck his own head" on his walk into the jail, according to police.

The officer and the guard drag Saenz outside, to what appears to be a loading dock.

They appear to talk for several minutes and during this time Saenz appears calm.

The officer and the guard try to stand Saenz up again, to move him, and Saenz begins struggling.

They throw him to the ground, press his face into the concrete, put a knee in his back.

The officers do not taser him, spray him with mace, summon additional guards or officers to aid in subduing their charge.

Saenz twists and writhes, struggling to flip himself over and the guard recoils. Saenz makes a grabbing motion and the officer draws his gun and fires.

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Saenz is hit and convulses on the ground.

The officer then finds use for his taser, firing into Saenz' already convulsing body before he and the guard push him face-first into the concrete again.

Nearly two minutes pass before the officer begins chest compressions.

Nearly two more minutes pass before medics respond from inside.

The rest of the video shows EMTs vain attempts to resuscitate Saenz before his body is eventually carted away.

Last year, when police shot and killed a homeless man in Albuquerque, there was rioting in the streets.

This time, there was no public outrage.

A state grand jury declined to indict Officer Jose Flores, whose attorney argued that Saenz was too musclebound for a taser to be effective and said Flores' gun discharged when the jail guard knocked into him, though the video does not appear to reflect this defense.

Jose Flores is the same officer who gained notoriety in January when he gifted a pair of boots and socks to a homeless man during a cold winter.

It is not clear whether Flores is still an active duty officer.

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