Prosecutor Drops Charges Against 17 Texas Police Officers Over Tactics Used in 2020 Protests

People help a protester after he was shot with a rubber bullet under Interstate 35 freeway in Austin, Texas, on May 30, 2020. (Ricardo B. Brazziell/Austin American-Statesman via AP)

A Texas prosecutor is dropping most of the cases against more than 20 Austin police officers who were indicted for tactics used during the May 2020 protests that followed George Floyd’s killing.

Monday’s announcement came as a sharp reversal for Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, who was elected months after the protests. The Democrat prosecutor ran on the promise to hold Austin police accountable in the state’s Capital.

Mr. Garza said his office would dismiss indictments against 17 officers but still plans to move forward with charges against four others.

In a statement, the DA did not explain why he decided to dismiss the majority of the cases. Many of the officers were indicted in February 2022, but none had gone to trial. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott had suggested the idea of pardons after the grand jury handed down charges against the officers.

The slate of felony charges was by far the most indictments of officers from a single U.S. police department following nationwide protests in 2020 over racial injustice and police brutality. Some Austin police officers fired beanbag rounds into the crowd, critically injuring one teenager.

“No parent should fear that if their child chooses to voice their First Amendment right to assemble peacefully, they will walk away with serious bodily injury caused by the very person called to protect them,” Mr. Garza told reporters. “We expect the Department of Justice will take our request seriously, and we look forward to working with Mayor [Kirk] Watson, Interim APD Chief Robin Henderson, and the city council to ensure full cooperation with the DOJ investigation.”

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Mr. Garza also said he would “continue to hold law enforcement who break the law accountable.”

In a joint letter, the DA’s office and the city of Austin asked the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division to review the department’s actions during the protests.

“We write to request the Department of Justice conduct a ‘pattern-or-practice’ investigation into the Austin Police Department policies, practices, and procedures related to use of force crowd-control purposes during the protests in Austin from May 29 to May 31, 2020,” the letter dated Dec 4 stated. “A Travis County grand jury returned felony indictments against APD officers in connection with uses of force against the protestors. As of today, criminal cases are pending against four officers.”

The letter also points out the city has paid millions of dollars to settle civil cases brought against the department.

“Additionally, the city has paid more than $18 million to resolve civil lawsuits brought by injured protestors. Eight civil suits remain pending,” the letter continued.

Mr. Kirk, who was not in office at the time of the protests, said he looks forward to “turning the page” and allowing officers to get back to work.

“This has been a difficult chapter for Austin,” he said. “I look forward to turning the page. These announcements will allow police officers whose lives were upended by the indictments to return to their services to our community.

‘Political From the Outset’

Austin-based lawyer Ken Ervin, who represents nine of the officers whose indictments will be dismissed, said the charges were a “combination of politics and incompetence.”

“Mr. Garza has not really taken the chance to educate himself on police tactics,” Mr. Ervin said. “Maybe he’s finally done that.”

Attorney Doug O'Connell, who also represents the officers, told local KTBC-TV that the DA’s announcement did not come as a surprise.

“We weren’t surprised. We’ve been anticipating this from the very beginning of the case,” Mr. O'Connell said. “This was political from the outset. We said very, very early on that this might constitute a viable civil lawsuit against the city based on the degraded and out-of-date ammunition, the less lethal beanbag shotgun rounds. This was never a criminal case and never should have been indicted.”

Mr. Ervin and Mr. O'Connell are representing two of the four cases still being prosecuted.

Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said prosecutors had yet to prove any case where an officer committed wrongdoing.

“Our officers were faced with incredible and unprecedented challenges,” Mr. Bullock said. “In those extremely difficult times, they acted within the law and upheld their oath to keep our city safe.”

The indictments widened a rift between police and Mr. Garza, whose campaign was backed by liberal allies, including U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders.

Mr. Garza was one of a handful of progressive prosecutors elected in 2020, when the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others sparked a national outcry over law enforcement’s treatment of Black people. The Austin DA said the charges against the officers were not politically motivated and emphasized that his office prosecuted more than 30 non-officers who participated in the protests.

Officer Mistrial

The DA’s announcement comes just weeks after a mistrial was declared in a high-profile case involving Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor. The officer was charged with the murder in the April 2020 death of Michael Ramos, who was unarmed and shot by police as he tried to drive away from officers.

Mr. Garza’s office prosecuted the case that ended after the jury was unable to reach a verdict following five days of deliberations.

On Monday, Mr. Garza told KVUE-TV that his office plans to take the case back to trial.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.