District attorney drops 17 police officer indictments tied to 2020 protests
Editor’s Note: The video at the top of this story shows KXAN’s morning headlines for Monday, Dec. 4, 2023.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Indictments against 17 Austin Police officers tied to protests in 2020 will be dismissed, according to a joint release from the Travis County District Attorney's office and the City of Austin. Those officers will be allowed back on duty.
A total of 21 Austin police officers were indicted after May 2020 protests in downtown Austin following the deaths of George Floyd and Michael Ramos. A release from the Travis County District Attorney's Office and the City of Austin said they will move forward with four of those cases.
In exchange, the City and DA's office announced they submitted a letter to the Department of Justice asking for a review of the police department's actions during those protests. It's not immediately clear if the DOJ will do that review.
“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 City Council to ensure full cooperation with the DOJ investigation. We will also continue to hold law enforcement who break the law accountable," said Travis County District Attorney José Garza in a release.
Several people were injured by police who fired “less-lethal” ammunition at them. Many of those people suffered injuries after being hit by bean bags and/or rubber bullets in the face/head area while officers were trying to control crowds.
Officers were each handed two counts of aggravated assault by a public servant, KXAN has previously reported.
The indictments were announced in February 2022. Travis County District Attorney José Garza said then, that the facts discovered through his office’s investigation of the incidents were “disturbing,” and that many protesters injured by law enforcement during the protests were “innocent bystanders.”
Several people also filed civil lawsuits against APD officers, the department and the city. Some of those cases have settled for millions of dollars.
Holding police officers responsible was a major element of Garza's platform during his run for the district attorney seat. When he took office in January 2021, he said a major goal was to get excessive use-of-force cases by police officers in front of grand juries.
“It is so important that our community have faith and trust in our criminal justice system,” Garza told KXAN after he took office. “That they have faith if a law enforcement officer engages in misconduct, that if a law enforcement officer breaks the law, that they will be held accountable. So, that is our goal.”
The following officers were initially indicted:
- Jeffrey Teng
- Rolan Rast
- Justin Berry
- Jeremy Fisher
- John Siegel
- Joseph Cast
- Derrick Lehman
- Edward Boudreau
- Kyle Felton (two indictments)
- Todd Gilbertson
- Stanley Vick
- Christopher Irwin
- Joshua Jackson
- Josh Blake
- Kyu An
- Nicholas Gebhart
- Alexander Lomostev
- Brett Tableriou
- Eric Heim
The District Attorney's office did not clarify which cases will move forward and which are dismissed.