Details come to light following Bulletin’s Freedom of Information Act request
A months-long investigation by the Texas Rangers has cleared a Bandera County sheriff’s sergeant of any wrongdoing after he fatally shot a 68-year-old Medina man during a welfare check last fall.
Investigators said the incident unfolded Nov. 1 when Sgt. Cody Miller fired once at Sterling Mark Brantley, who was armed with a shotgun and confronted lawmen when they arrived at his rural residence on the 1100th block of Moffett Road.
Relatives told investigators Brantley had been behaving erratically. Miller said Brantley pointed his shotgun at him after the deputy asked several times for the man to lower his weapon, according to reports.
Information in the case became available to the public earlier this month after the Bulletin filed a Freedom of Information Act request.
As is routine in Texas officer-involved shootings, the case was reviewed by a grand jury, which declined to recommend prosecution, according to court documents.
Bodycam footage obtained by the Bulletin shows a downward view of a fence and some grass, but only audio of a deputy asking Brantley to lower his shotgun, eventually followed by the sound of a single shot.
A chain of events is outlined in a voluminous report conducted by Texas Ranger Sharee Irwin of Department of Public Safety Company F.
According to the investigation file, deputies initially were called to the scene to conduct a welfare check.
Reports indicate that prior to the shooting, there were increasing concerns about Brantley’s mental health. In one incident, Brantley reportedly drew a weapon on a propane delivery person, investigators said.
Mark Brantley’s ex-wife Sharon Brantley told authorities events leading to the fatal confrontation had been “coming on for years.”
The couple divorced in 2001, but she continued living on the property. She told law officers her ex-husband had not left the house for many years, often staying in the dark without using electricity.
She took care of him and brought him food, according to officials.
Brantley also told authorities her former spouse had locked her out of the residence in October and she had not been back since, though she and her nephew resided at a different dwelling on the same tract.
The investigation file indicated relatives had planned to obtain an emergency commitment for Mark Brantley because of escalating fears concerning his mental health.
When deputies arrived Nov. 1, authorities said, Brantley was hostile, making statements such as “You are not police. You are not the sheriff. You are not anything.”
After refusing to drop the shotgun and continuously pointing it at the officers, Brantley was fatally shot in the head by Miller using his department-issued rifle, officials said.
Deputies ran through the open gate and up to the residence, where Brantley’s body was lying near the rear tire of a Ford pickup parked under the carport.
A 12-gauge Marlin Goose Gun shotgun was found on the ground. It was loaded with one unfired 00-buckshot shell in the chamber and two additional unfired shells in the magazine.
An autopsy by Suzanna Dana, a forensic pathologist at Central Texas Autopsy in Lockhart, noted Brantley appeared unbathed and had a single gunshot wound to the head, which was fatal.
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