Months after mistrial, jury selection begins in Austin police officer's murder trial

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Jury selection begins Monday for the trial of Austin Police Officer Christopher Taylor, who was charged with murder in the death of Mike Ramos.

Taylor shot and killed Michael Ramos, 42, during a confrontation with police in a south Austin apartment complex parking lot in April 2020.

In May, a judge granted the defense's motion for a mistrial following several snags in the jury selection process.

The court chose from jury pools of 80 and 50, and could not find enough eligible jurors to sit on the case. This time around, the court will conduct jury selection differently, according to Ken Ervin, one of Taylor’s attorneys. The court will order three panels of 100 potential jurors and move to a bigger courtroom for jury selection

During the previous jury selection process in May, Judge Dayna Blazey said she expects the trial to last three to four weeks.

Former prosecutor Gary Cobb is coming out of retirement to help with the murder trial. Travis County District Attorney José Garza made a special request for Cobb to help with the case, according to a source who asked to remain anonymous because of their proximity to the case.