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Travis County, Texas, District Attorney Joe Garza has scheduled a grand jury to consider charging over twenty police officers for their response to violent riots in Austin following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
The formation of the grand jury, confirmed by Fox News, is predicated on protests near Austin Police Headquarters on May 30 and 31, 2020, during which APD officers fired bean bags, rubber bullets, and tear gas during a protest that spiraled out of control.
AUSTIN, TX – NOVEMBER 18: District Attorney Jose Garza in Austin, TX on Thursday, November 18, 2021. (Photo by Spencer Selvidge for The Washington Post via Getty Images)
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At least 21 officers are facing potential charges for firing less than lethal rounds at protesters who were blocking I-35, the main interstate through Austin, and refusing to disperse after multiple instructions by police to do so. Interstate 35 is the main traffic artery through downtown Austin, connecting the Texas capital to points north including Dallas and south including San Antonio. Attempting to block the interstate was illegal. Austin Police Headquarters is next to the interstate and protesters kept it under a state of siege for several nights.
Several protesters were seriously hurt by beanbag rounds that then-Austin Police Chief Brian Manley said in June 2020 were fired according to proper police policy. Several police officers were also injured during the violence that spread across downtown Austin.
However, the police union as well as an attorney for some of the officers targeted by the grand jury say that the Austin Police Department provided defective less-lethal rounds to officers who responded to the protest.
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“The department issued these officers old and deteriorated beanbag rounds,” attorney…
Source : foxnews
