Family identifies man fatally shot by Raleigh police. Here’s what we know.
Family members identified the Latino man who was fatally shot by Raleigh police Tuesday afternoon after a crash on Interstate 440 and are raising money to send his body back to his home country of El Salvador.
Family members said the man was José Daniel Argueta Turcios, who was married and a father of three.
He died after police shot him while officers struggled to detain him. Argueta Turcios was carrying a knife in the incident, Raleigh police said, and Chief Estella Patterson said police shot him after he “swung the knife toward officers.”
Argueta Turcios’ wife, Rosa Jerez, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for hospital and funeral costs, as well as the costs of bringing his remains to El Salvador.
Jerez wrote on GoFundMe in Spanish that her husband died in an “accident that leaves a family alone and helpless since he was who provided everything to the family.”
Raleigh Police said Thursday night that “the identities of those involved are not yet available for release.”
Jerez declined to an interview with The News & Observer but said a vigil would be held to honor him.
Durham Rapid Response announced that a vigil has been scheduled Friday at 6 p.m. at 2616 S. Saunders St., in Raleigh.
Tuesday’s shooting took place after Raleigh police responded to a crash just after 1:30 p.m. on the Beltline between exits 12 (Brentwood Avenue) and 13 (U.S. 64 Business/New Bern Avenue), Patterson said.
Patterson said 911 calls indicated a person was intoxicated, and officers were “alerted that an individual was armed with a knife.”
Officers approached Argueta Turcios, who Patterson said was walking with a small child and carrying a knife. Officers demanded multiple times that he drop the knife, but Patterson said Argueta Turcios did not comply.
Police used a Taser on Argueta Turcios “to try to defuse the situation,” Patterson said. When police held him down and he attempted to get up, police fired at him after “the individual swung the knife toward officers,” she said.
Argueta Turcios received aid on scene and was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
SBI to review case
Patterson declined to identify the officers, but said they would be placed on administrative leave according to protocol.
Officers at the scene Tuesday were wearing active body cameras, including the officer who shot Argueta Turcios.
The police department said it will petition for the release of the video, a step required by state law before any footage can be shared with the public.
The State Bureau of Investigation will review the case, which is the department’s standard procedure when an officer shoots someone.
The Raleigh Police Department’s internal affairs unit will also investigate whether officers followed department policy. The department’s initial findings will be submitted to the city within five business days.
“I want to wait until we have all the information before making any decisions or before making any statements concerning whether the shooting was justified or not justified,” Patterson said Tuesday. “We just don’t have all that information at this time.”
Sandra Marquina, a close friend of Argueta Turcios and his family, told The N&O that she has known him since they were children growing up in the small town of Olomega in El Salvador.
“The night it happened… I couldn’t find sleep to rest, because I knew him,” Marquina said in Spanish. “I lament his death. He was a hard-working person since I’ve known him, he came (to the U.S.) to work. He was a good father and also a good son.”
Marquina said she was surprised by the circumstances of his death and that she fully know the details that led up to the shooting. But, she said, he was “a person of good conduct.”
“(His) children are left without a father,” Marquina said.
911 calls describe wreck
Police have not released details about what caused the initial crash.
On Wednesday, the Police Department released audio from three 911 calls and the police radio feed about the wreck. One 911 caller tells dispatchers that “somebody ran me off the road.”
Argueta Turcios was shot around 1:44 p.m., about 13 minutes after the crash, according to the police radio feed.
A 23-second video posted to social media and obtained by The N&O shows the scene following the crash when police shoot him.
The video shows officers approaching Argueta Turcios while he is seen trying to walk away. A woman is seen moving a child in the opposite direction. Argueta Turcios continues walking away before one of the officers tases him.
Patterson said Tuesday that police had not yet determined whether there was a language barrier, but added they believed Argueta Turcios understood their commands.
After Argueta Turcios falls to the ground, five officers surround him. A few seconds later, Argueta Turcios appears to struggle to get up and is on his knees. Two officers then draw their weapons.
Argueta Turcios is shot and falls over.
It was the third fatal shooting by Triangle law enforcement officers this month.
Durham police killed a man they say attacked a convenience store clerk Wednesday morning, and Durham County sheriff’s deputies fatally shot a woman they say pointed a shotgun at them last week.
Staff writer Avi Bajpai contributed to this report.
This story was originally published January 13, 2022 at 6:10 PM with the headline "Family identifies man fatally shot by Raleigh police. Here’s what we know.."
