The El Paso Police Department is flatly rejecting renewed claims of heroism by a mass shooting survivor who was arrested by the Secret Service on an outstanding warrant moments before he was due to accept an award from President Trump.
“There isn’t an argument,” El Paso police spokesman Sgt. Enrique Carrillo told the Washington Examiner after Chris Grant insisted he accurately described throwing bottles in a bid to distract the gunman, who killed 22 people in a Walmart last month.
Grant, 50, was interviewed in a hospital bed by CNN anchor Chris Cuomo, and his tale was shared in the White House East Room by President Trump, who presented a signed certificate for heroism to Grant’s mother while her son was detained at the White House gate.
El Paso police say that video footage from the Walmart show Grant’s actions and that they do not match his claimed heroism.
Grant’s renewed claim of heroism was made this week through his family’s attorney Rosana Narvaez, who told journalists in a prepared statement: “He is still recovering from his physical injuries, but his recollection of the events on Aug. 3, 2019, are genuine. … a video cannot begin to capture the entire story of Mr. Grant’s and others’ plights as the mass shooter rampaged inside Walmart.”
Narvaez told the Washington Examiner the Cuomo interview was conducted while Grant was “heavily medicated with anesthesia and morphine,” but that “Chris Grant stands behind everything he saw and experienced.”
The attorney insisted she wasn’t sure what part of Grant’s story is disputed by police and downplayed the possibility of suing authorities for defamation over their decision to dispute his account.
“With regard to any lawsuit for defamation, I’d venture to say that’s probably the last thing on Mr. Grant’s mind right now,” Narvaez said.
Grant has a criminal record including theft and evading arrest and was sentenced to eight months in prison for car theft in March after pleading guilty to stealing a silver 2009 Mazda 6. In 2016, he pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 18 days in jail for stealing TVs from a Sears in Richardson, Texas. He pleaded guilty to evading arrest in Collin County in 2016.
The outstanding warrant for which he was arrested at the White House was issued by Collin County, Texas, last year for resisting arrest. The county chose not to extradite Grant from D.C., though he still could face the charge if arrested again.
In the aftermath of the mass shooting, perpetrated by a suspect who allegedly posted an anti-Hispanic manifesto online, Grant gave a series of interviews, was photographed with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, and pushed for gun control.
Grant’s tale gained national traction following the broadcast by CNN’s Cuomo.
“To deter him, I started just chucking bottles, I just started throwing bottles, random bottles at him,” Grant told Cuomo. “And I’m not a baseball player, so one went this way, one went that way. And then one went right towards him and then that’s when he saw me … When I got hit, it was like somebody put a hand grenade in my back and pulled the pin.”
Although he was prevented by the Secret Service from receiving his heroism commendation in person, Trump recounted Grant’s story, unaware El Paso police disputed its veracity.
Trump said: “Chris grabbed — listen to this — soda bottles and anything else in front of him, and began hurling them at the gunman, distracting him from the other shoppers and causing the shooter to turn toward Chris and fire at Chris, whereby Chris suffered two serious gunshot wounds. But he is recovering well, and we wish him the best. His family is here. So please thank Chris for us, please.”
Although his account was widely circulated, El Paso police say they were not asked about Grant’s claims until after he was arrested at the White House entrance.
“Nobody bothered to check with us,” Sgt. Carrillo told the Washington Examiner after his arrest.
Trump, who is said to have expressed displeasure after learning of Grant’s arrest, did not respond to shouted questions last week about the incident.
Carrillo said the police department’s position remains that footage contradicts Grant’s alleged heroics: “It isn’t a controversy. There really isn’t any controversy.”
The police spokesman shrugged off Grant and his attorney’s implicit claim detectives were being untruthful. “That’s their right,” he said.
This story was updated with comment from Grant’s attorney, which was sought but not initially received.
