SGT. Joshua Blake Bartlett
Officer: Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office, Sergeant Joshua Blake Bartlett
Date: 7/15/2021 Location: Levelland, TX FACTORS (1,2,4,15,19,21)
Perpetrator(s) Involved: Omar Soto-Chavira
Criminal Activity History/Involved: Yes, within the previous month Soto-Chavira was arrested for “aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, continuous violence, assault on a family member, resisting arrest and assault causing bodily injury.” After serving sometime in jail he was released on bond 7/11/2021./Yes, he intentionally shot at police officers trying to help him.
Mental Illness: Unknown, however Soto-Chavira’s neighbors believed he was “acting strange” and his “laying in the street while possessing a large weapon” was indeed not normal.
Substance Abuse History/Involved: Unknown./None stated.
Race/Sex/Age: Latino/Male/22
What prompted the initial contact with the killer? After responding to a 911 call of a man, Omar Soto-Chavira, acting strange and “walking around with a large gun”, Levelland police officers were shot at by Soto-Chavira at approximately 1 p.m. before he barricaded himself in his house. The Lubbock County Sheriff’s Office SWAT team responded at 2:15 p.m. to take over the situation and relieve the officers from their positions on the perimeter.
Actions taken by subject toward police: Soto-Chavira opened fire on the officers as they were switching out, fatally striking SWAT Commander Sgt. Joshua Bartlett and hitting another Lubbock County deputy sheriff, a Levelland police officer and a Hockley County sheriff’s deputy.
Reactions by the police: Officer returned fire at Soto-Chavira. After a standoff lasting more than 10 hours, power was cut to the block, robots were used to pinpoint Soto-Chavira’s location in the house and then chemical agents were used to flush him out. Soto-Chavira surrendered shortly after and was taken to the hospital for medical attention.
How murdered? Sgt. Bartlett was fatally shot while having his team switch out with officers on the perimeter of an armed barricaded subject.
What could have been done differently for the officer to still be alive? N/A. SWAT officers are known as the best of the best and are called to the worst of the worst incidents. Inherent in such incidents involving active shooters/barricaded subjects is the possibility of being shot even if the officers do everything right.
Would the officer have been justified to use deadly force before being murdered? Officers had returned fire and attempted to use deadly force to neutralize Soto-Chavira before he opened fire upon the SWAT team as they switched positions.
Outcome for the cop-killer: After a lengthy stand-off with police, Soto-Chavira was arrested and is facing numerous felony charges.
