AUSTIN, Texas — A mother’s worst nightmare, a family’s continued grief. For the Moonesinghe’s, only justice and accountability will help them heal.
“We haven’t heard anything from the Austin Police Department. We haven’t heard anything from the Office of Police Oversight, civilian wing. We haven’t received his cellphones,” Rajan’s brother, Mark Moonesinghe said. “There’s no reason they should be keeping his personal property.”
Seven months have passed since 33-year-old Austin resident and businessman Rajan Moonesinghe was shot and killed outside his home by Austin police officer Daniel Sanchez, who’s currently on administrative leave. The family argues his fear of a home invader was not taken seriously by APD. Lifesaving attempts were never made and the fatal incident could have been prevented if de-escalation training had been applied.
“The police kept him in handcuffs, stood around and watched the body they just punctured with bullets bleed out a pool under his front porch,” Rajan’s mother, Ruth Moonesinghe, said.
“This has challenged us as a family to make change so this doesn’t happen to anybody else,” Mark Moonesinghe said.
Austin’s May ballot initiative on increased police oversight, Proposition A, which the family campaigned on, could be an important step. In the meantime, the department told Spectrum News 1 Texas in a statement that it's still investigating the incident and has no further information.
“While we understand the need for answers, criminal and administrative investigations require a thorough investigation, which may take an extended time to complete. These incidents are jointly investigated, the criminal by the Special Investigations Unit and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office— the administrative by Internal Affairs and the Office of Police Oversight. To maintain the integrity of the ongoing investigations, the Department has no further information to provide at this time”.
The Moonesinghe’s legal counsel wouldn’t specify if a lawsuit is forthcoming, but they’ll continue to demand action from the city in the days to come.
“We want closure, we want this to be able to wrap up,” Mark Moonesinghe said. “We want to move past this. Every day it continues, it brings pain to my family.”
