VIDEO: Austin police officers cleared from indictments share story for first time

AUSTIN (KXAN) — Sergeant Joshua Blake and Detective Christopher Irwin used the word "shocked" to describe how they felt when they received news of their indictments related to actions taken during the May 2020 protests following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Michael Ramos in Austin.

They were two of the group of 19 officers indicted by a grand jury in February 2022 on charges of aggravated assault by a public servant. Twenty-one officers total would be indicted related to the 2020 protests in Austin, which responding officers said became "riotous."

Earlier this month, District Attorney José Garza announced that his office dropped 17 of those indictments. Blake and Irwin were on that list.

"It's been a whirlwind of emotions," said Irwin. "A constant dark cloud looming over myself and my family."

The District Attorney's office is still pursuing charges against four officers related to the protests. Garza said those cases presented "aggravating factors." Additionally, Garza and the City of Austin have requested that the Department of Justice review the Austin Police Department's actions during the protest. At the publishing of this article, the Department of Justice had not yet said whether it plans to move forward with conducting the review.

Officers explain 'riotous' crowd behavior

"The special response team motto is to 'Protect the First,' so we were out there to protect the protesters," Blake said. "We want people to come out and protest what they see fit. However, when we start taking bottles, rocks, bottles filled with urine, when we start getting hit, when my officers start getting hit with that, it's no longer a peaceful protest."

Civil attorney for injured participants shares thoughts

Jeff Edwards represents some of the people who were injured during the 2020 protests.

He said the 14 cases he has worked related to these injuries have resulted in more than $18 million in settlements.

"Whether or not crimes are prosecuted is a discretionary decision and one that a DA really is empowered to make," Edwards said. "I would not read into the district attorney's decision that what happened was not unlawful or not part of a practice."

This story will air tonight on KXAN at 5 and 6 p.m. Check back for more insight from all sides throughout the day.