A grand jury has indicted 19 Austin law enforcement officers accused of excessive force during 2020 protests against police brutality. Austin officials also reached a $10 million settlement with two men shot by police with beanbag rounds.
An Austin police officer fires into a crowd of protesters from Interstate 35 near police headquarters on May 31, 2020., our daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
In a short press conference Thursday afternoon, Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon defended his officers and chided Garza for remarking on"anticipated indictments." Flanked by APD command staff and city higher-ups, including City Manager Spencer Cronk, Chacon said officers were overwhelmed by crowds that were often"riotous and violent" — and that"less-lethal" weapons used for crowd control"did not perform in all instances in the manner anticipated.
"It's an absolute disgrace, and it sickens me that DA Garza is using working officers as pawns in a political game of chess," Casaday said during a."Garza ran on a platform to indict officers and has not missed the opportunity to try and ruin lives, careers and simply fulfill a campaign promise." "Today’s settlement reminds us of a difficult and painful moment for our city," Austin Mayor Steve Adler said in a tweet."No one should be injured while exercising their constitutional right to protest."
The violence that weekend spurred more than a dozen lawsuits against the city and police officers by people injured by police, the Statesman reported. So far, the city has settled three of those lawsuits.
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