By Scott Akanewich, Liberty Hill Independent |
Family, friends still seeking answers in death of Jackson Lieber.
One month after Jackson Lieber was fatally shot by a Liberty Hill Police Department officer responding to a trespassing call, family and friends of the 21-year-old former Georgetown resident gathered Saturday evening at Veterans Memorial Park in downtown Liberty Hill for a candlelight vigil.
Although the occasion was to honor the memory of his son, Matthew Lieber also sent a strong message to authorities conducting the investigation of the incident to shed light on what actually took place on the afternoon of Jan. 18.
“You want to hold people accountable – that’s the number one thing here,” said Lieber, who along with ex-wife Erin, have filed a lawsuit in federal court against LHPD Officer Esteban Gomez-Sanchez, who allegedly shot Lieber twice during the incident that took place at 750 Ranch Road 1869. “There’s ways we can work together to get to accountability that doesn’t compromise anybody’s investigation. The Liberty Hill Police Department, Williamson County Sheriff’s Department and the District Attorney all have the choice to share the truth.”
Bells at City Hall echoed in the background as Lieber began to speak at the outset of the ceremony.
“We’re here to remember Jackson and to share our love as a family,” he said, to the assembled who stood among the stone memorials honoring local residents that served in the various armed forces. “But, we’re also here to show our commitment that we’re going to get justice for Jackson. We’re here to connect with the community of Liberty Hill and appreciate the use of this veterans park. As a veteran myself, I can tell you, I have members of my Army family here – I always have their back and they always have mine. We’re also gathered to remind public servants the eyes of community are on them looking for the highest standards of integrity and transparency.”
Lieber offered a prayer for Jackson, then one-by-one, family and friends stood front-and-center offering additional prayers and sharing memories, including mother Erin Lieber, who fought tears while talking about her son.
The approximately two dozen attendees – most holding signs, many with photos of Jackson during various stages of his life – then marched north on Loop 332 to Liberty Hill Police Department headquarters before circling the building and returning to the Veterans Memorial.
Lieber said he’s still processing the events of Jackson’s passing, but the support shown on this chilly, mid-winter night by those who attended was helpful in the process.
“I’m still feeling some of the shock and grief every time I have to confront the fact Jackson’s gone,” he said. “But having family and friends here – a lot of these folks that showed up, they knew Jackson in high school or some of them even sooner than that. The love from other people helps, but it’s really just an emotional roller coaster where you go from angry to sad to bargaining with God and it just doesn’t happen in a nice, neat progression. It happens in a cycle – that might be five minutes, that might be five days, it might be five hours and I just never know.”
Lieber added his presence at such an event was the last thing he ever expected, but will also have the resolve to get to the bottom and find the truth.
“I’m not the kind of person that wanted to come out here, hold a sign and walk around a small town,” he said. “I wanted to enjoy my retirement and watch my son grow up and have his kids. But, if that’s what I have to do to get answers, it’s what I’ll do. I just want to know what happened – that’s the bottom line.”
The Texas Rangers – an arm of the Department of Public Safety – is currently conducting the investigation, while Gomez-Sanchez remains on administrative leave.
The investigation into the shooting – which is being conducted by the Texas Rangers, a division of the Department of Public Safety – is currently ongoing, with no updates or further details released since the incident.
Lieber and his former wife filed a lawsuit against the officer on Feb. 15.
Lieber offered advice for other parents in the hopes they will never have to face the prospect he’s currently dealing with.
“Hug your kids every night because you never know – tomorrow’s not promised,” he said. “You just don’t expect to see that with a 21-year old.
“Let’s dig into this and find out what happened and make sure nobody else has to ever go through this,” he said. “Again, that’s probably an issue for me to deal with later. But today, I just need to find out what happened and then we can talk about ways we can prevent this from ever happening again.”