Butts’ father, a former U.S. Army military police officer, says the SAPD officer used “excessive force — excessive deadly force to neutralize a threat that was already neutralized.”
The parents of a man shot by San Antonio police outside a North Side restaurant Friday think the officer used “excessive force.”
Sheldon M. Butts, who turned 24 two days after the shooting, was shot outside the Thai Hut near Loop 1604 and West Bitters Road after police said he attacked an officer responding to a theft call about a stolen pair of scissors.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Butts is still in the hospital and facing felony charges for assaulting a police officer and taking an officer’s weapon.
KSAT has also learned the 23-year SAPD veteran who shot Butts was also the subject of previous KSAT reporting on a sexting scandal while he was part of SAPD Chief William McManus’ security detail.
Speaking with KSAT from South Carolina, where Butts had largely been raised, his parents believe the officer could have used less lethal means to arrest their son.
“He got shot twice unnecessarily and unlawfully. I do believe that,” said his mother, Tawana Gadsden.
Butts’ father, Sheldon A. Butts, is a former U.S. Army military police officer. He said the officer used “excessive force — excessive deadly force to neutralize a threat that was already neutralized.”
“This guy (Castillo) got up. Not only got up, but stepped back,“ the elder Butts said, recounting what witnesses told KSAT. ”So, he had time to think. Even though it’s one or two seconds in between that, you have time to think whether or not you’re gonna cross draw and pull out your Taser or go to your normal draw and pull out (your sidearm).“
Staff at the Thai Hut told KSAT that Butts had entered the kitchen, stolen a pair of scissors and took off. They said he later came back and told them to call SAPD.
Officer Mark Castillo responded to the theft call. Police and a restaurant employee said Castillo talked with Butts first.
Witnesses described Butts and Castillo “tussling” in a mulch bed outside the Thai Hut with Castillo on top.
Brandi Shaler was driving by them in the parking lot and saw Castillo “jump up and back into the road.”
“And then the other guy (Butts) tried to get up,” Shaler said. “And as he did, he (Castillo) shot him twice.”
Police originally said Castillo tried to use pepper spray on Butts, but it wasn’t effective. According to Chief William McManus and preliminary information released by the department Butts tried to grab Castillo’s gun, which is when the officer shot him.
Arrest warrant paperwork filed later Friday night, however, described a different chain of events. Police wrote in an affidavit that Castillo had tried to pepper spray Butts, but the man was able to take the spray away and use it against the officer instead.
At that point, Castillo “drew his duty weapon and discharged his weapon twice, striking the Defendant (Butts).”
Butts moved to San Antonio two years ago, his family said, and works as a server at a different restaurant. He has no criminal record in Bexar County, and Gadsden said he‘s “never been in trouble” or even in a fight.
Gadsden said she spoke with her son on Thursday, the day before the shooting. He sounded “different,” she said, but he reassured her that she didn’t have to worry.
Butts called her Monday night for the first time since the shooting. Gadsden said her son was glad to hear her voice because he thought she was dead.
“I think that just was a personal — I don’t know. That is still odd for me,” Gadsden said. “But he did tell me he just wasn’t — he felt like he wasn’t there. And I don’t know why. He didn’t tell me why. He didn’t elaborate on why. And I did not ask or got an answer on why.”
Restaurant staff KSAT spoke with on Friday questioned whether Butts was on drugs or had a mental health issue. Asked about either possibility, Gadsden said her son had no known substance abuse issues and he “does not have psychological issues.”
Gadsden also said his mental health is “kind of irrelevant to what the measures of the officer took.”
“If he was mentally ill, they are trained to handle them in the right way,” Gadsden said. “The way he (Butts) was handled was wrong.”
The public will see for themselves within the month how the shooting went down. SAPD policy is to release body camera footage of “critical incidents,” such as police shootings, within 30 days.
A familiar name
The officer who shot Butts, Mark Castillo, has previously been the subject of reporting by KSAT Investigates.
In July 2024, KSAT Investigates reported that the now-former member of Chief William McManus’ security detail had been sexting with a woman while on duty.
After KSAT’s story ran, Castillo was given a 30-day suspension and moved to the vehicle crimes unit.
Given the chief and Castillo’s familiarity, Gadsden said she thinks McManus should not “even be anywhere close trying to make final decisions for this police officer.”
“For this police officer to be his driver, as well as his top security guy, of course, he’s going to look out for him,” Gadsden said.
Asked for a response to the Butts’ claims about excessive force or concerns about a conflict of interest with the chief, an SAPD spokesman reiterated that SAPD’s Shooting Team and Internal Affairs Unit are still investigating and that both investigations will be forwarded to the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office for review.
After the police shooting, Castillo has since been placed on administrative duty.
More coverage of this story on KSAT:
- SAPD identifies officer who shot, critically injured suspected thief twice on North Side
- SAPD officer shot suspect twice outside North Side restaurant; man critically injured, chief says
