OAN’s James Meyers
8:35 AM – Tuesday, December 5, 2023
A Democrat Texas prosecutor is dropping charges against 17 Austin police officers who were charged with assault after being accused of injuring protesters during the 2020 George Floyd protests.
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The announcement on Monday by Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza (D-Texas.), comes as a surprise to many after Garza ran as a progressive and vowed to fight against law enforcement.
Despite dismissing the indictments against 17 officers Garza’s office said that they will still move forward with prosecuting four others.
The amount of felony charges against the officers were the most indictments in a single U.S. police department during the 2020 protests.
“This has been a difficult chapter for Austin. 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,” said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson (D-Texas.), who was not in office at the time of the protests.
Garza did not give an explanation on why he was dropping the indictments against the officers, after they were indicted in February 2022. Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas.) also claimed that he would pardon the officers after the charges were handed down by a grand jury at the time.
Ken Ervin, an attorney representing the officers said the indictments were a “combination of politics and incompetence.”
“Mr. Garza has not really taken the chance to educate himself on police tactics,” Ervin said. “Maybe he’s finally done that.”
Garza alleged in 2022, that many protesters injured by the officers were innocent bystanders, with some suffering serious injuries. The city of Austin has paid out over $18 million to settle lawsuits filed by protesters during the protests.
Additionally, Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said prosecutors had not proven where an officer committed any wrongdoing.
“Our officers were faced with incredible and unprecedented challenges. In those extremely difficult times they acted within the law and upheld their oath to keep our city safe,” Bullock said.
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