{"id":2116209,"date":"2023-12-05T11:37:02","date_gmt":"2023-12-05T16:37:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/assault-charges-dropped-against-17-austin-police-officers-in-2020-george-floyd-protests\/"},"modified":"2023-12-05T11:39:31","modified_gmt":"2023-12-05T16:39:31","slug":"assault-charges-dropped-against-17-austin-police-officers-in-2020-george-floyd-protests","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/assault-charges-dropped-against-17-austin-police-officers-in-2020-george-floyd-protests\/","title":{"rendered":"17 Austin police officers had assault charges dropped in relation to the 2020 George Floyd protests"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fassault-charges-dropped-against-17-austin-police-officers-in-2020-george-floyd-protests%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2116209&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p><!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">(Photo by Sergio Flores\/Getty Images)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2>OAN\u2019s James\u200b Meyers<\/h2>\n<p>8:35 AM \u200c\u2013 Tuesday, \u200bDecember 5, 2023\u200c    <\/p>\n<p>A Democrat\u200b Texas prosecutor \u200cis\u200c dropping charges against 17 Austin police officers who were charged with assault after being accused of\u200d injuring protesters during the 2020 George Floyd protests. <\/p>\n<div id=\"div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3\" style=\"min-width: 320px; min-height: 50px; text-align: center;\">  \t<script>  \t\tgoogletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-1663871513696-art-3'); });  \t<\/script>  <\/div>\n<div class=\"ad-slot__ad-label\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/p>\n<p>The announcement on Monday by Travis\u2063 County District\u2062 Attorney Jose Garza (D-Texas.), comes as a surprise\u200d to many after Garza ran as a \u200cprogressive and\u2062 vowed to\u200d fight against law enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Despite dismissing the indictments against 17 officers Garza\u2019s \u2064office said that they will \u2064still move forward with prosecuting four others. <\/p>\n<p>The\u2064 amount of felony charges against the \u200dofficers were \u200dthe most indictments in\u200b a single U.S. police department \u2063during \u2064the\u200d 2020 protests. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cThis has\u2062 been a \u200cdifficult chapter for Austin. I look forward to turning \u200dthe \u200bpage. These announcements will allow police officers, whose lives were upended by the indictments, to return \u200dto their services to our community,\u201d said Austin Mayor Kirk Watson (D-Texas.), who\u200b was not in office at the time of the protests.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Garza did not \u2064give an explanation on why\u2062 he was dropping the indictments \u200bagainst the officers, after they were indicted in\u200d February 2022. Texas\u200c Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas.) also claimed that he\u2062 would pardon the officers after the charges were handed \u2062down by a grand jury at\u2063 the time.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>Ken Ervin, an attorney representing the officers said the indictments were a\u2064 \u201ccombination of politics \u2063and incompetence.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cMr.\u200d Garza has not really taken the chance to educate himself on\u200c police tactics,\u201d Ervin said. \u201cMaybe\u200c he\u2019s finally done that.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Garza alleged in 2022, that many protesters \u2062injured\u200d by the officers were innocent bystanders, \u2062with some suffering serious injuries. The city of Austin has paid out over $18\u2063 million to settle lawsuits \u200bfiled by protesters during the protests. <\/p>\n<p>Additionally, Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said prosecutors had not proven where \u200ban officer\u200b committed any wrongdoing. <\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote\">\n<p>\u201cOur officers \u200bwere faced with\u200b incredible and unprecedented challenges. In those extremely difficult times\u200c they acted within the law \u200dand upheld their oath to keep our city safe,\u201d Bullock said.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Stay \u200cinformed! Receive breaking news blasts\u2062 directly to your inbox for free. Subscribe here. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts\">https:\/\/www.oann.com\/alerts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"rc-widget-10bad2\" data-rc-widget data-widget-host=\"habitat\" data-endpoint=\"\/\/trends.revcontent.com\" data-widget-id=\"278641\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"dpsp-share-text\" style=\"margin-bottom:10px\"> \t\t \t\tShare this post!\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Jeff Zink &#038; Ryan Zink<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Hans Mahncke<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>with Jim Nelles<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>James Comer links Joe Biden to Hunter\u2019s company Owasco PC, a Jewish diner is under siege and Ireland \u200clooks to\u2063 crush \u2063free speech.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>A group representing 83 Spanish media outlets has filed a $600 million lawsuit against Facebook owner \u200cMeta Platforms.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Verizon said it would <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hawaiian-airlines-parent-surges-on-1-9-bln-buyout-deal-with-alaska-air\/\" title=\"Hawaiian Airlines' parent soars after .9 billion acquisition agreement with Alaska Air\">offer streaming subscriptions<\/a> \u2064to Netflix \u200dand\u200d Warner Bros Discovery-owned\u200d Max platforms as a bundle\u2064 to its customers.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>Market capitalizations of\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/whistleblower-reveals-censorship-industrial-complex\/\" title=\"Whistleblower exposes \"Censorship Industrial Complex\">global mega-cap companies surged<\/a>, buoyed by a decline in U.S. yields and growing anticipation\u2063 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/decolonization-part-of-radical-climate-agenda\/\" title=\"Decolonization' in Radical Climate Agenda\">potential rate cuts amid diminishing worries<\/a> about inflation.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-content\">\n<p>More advertisers are likely to flee Elon \u200dMusk\u2019s\u200c <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-new-acting-attorney-general-jeff-rosen-recently-wrote-an-essay-on-foreign-influence-in-us-elections-this-tells-us-a-little-about-his-knowledge-of-whats-going-on-today\/\" title=\"The New Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen Recently Wrote an Essay on Foreign Influence in US Elections \u2013 This Tells Us A Little About His Knowledge of What\u2019s Going On Today\">social media platform<\/a> X after the billionaire lashed out\u2063 at\u2063 some \u200cof the \u2063biggest\u200d names in the media industry.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \u200brnrn  <\/p>\n<h2> What implications does the decision to dismiss indictments against the officers have on \u2062the community&#8217;s perception of law enforcement \u200cand\u2064 the \u200cjustice system as a whole<\/h2>\n<p><span>  Title: \u200cCharges Dropped\u200c Against Austin Police Officers\u200b Accused of Assault During George Floyd Protests<\/p>\n<p>Introduction:<\/p>\n<p>In a\u200b surprising turn of events, \u2064a Democrat Texas\u200c prosecutor, Jose Garza, has decided to drop charges against 17\u200b Austin police officers who were accused of assault during the 2020 George \u200bFloyd\u200c protests.\u200c This unexpected announcement comes \u2062after Garza ran a progressive campaign \u2063and vowed to fight against law enforcement. While the indictments against these\u200c officers have been dismissed, the prosecutor&#8217;s office has stated that they will continue to prosecute four\u200c others. The decision to drop charges against\u200d the officers has raised questions and garnered mixed reactions from various stakeholders involved.<\/p>\n<p>Background and Political Implications:<\/p>\n<p>The indictment of \u2064the 17 Austin police officers marked the highest number\u200b of felony charges against\u200c a \u2062single U.S. \u2063police department during the 2020 protests. As Travis County\u200b District\u2063 Attorney Jose Garza identifies as a Democrat, his decision to drop charges against these \u2064officers has\u200c surprised many. Garza had campaigned on \u2063progressive ideals and a promise to challenge law \u200benforcement. This\u2062 sudden reversal in his stance has left some individuals baffled.<\/p>\n<p>Austin Mayor, Kirk Watson,\u200b who was not in office at the time of the \u200cprotests, expressed his enthusiasm for moving forward\u2063 from \u2062this difficult chapter. He\u200b highlighted\u200d that dropping \u200cthe indictments would\u2063 allow the\u200c officers, whose lives had been affected \u200cby the legal proceedings,\u200b to resume their services to the \u2062community. However, the mayor did not provide any further insights into the reasoning behind Garza&#8217;s decision.<\/p>\n<p>Reactions and \u200bCriticism:<\/p>\n<p>While Governor Greg Abbott, a Republican, had \u2063previously declared his intention to pardon the officers once they were charged, the dropping\u200d of indictments has caused \u2063a stir. The\u2063 lack of explanation from District Attorney Garza regarding why\u2062 the charges were dismissed has left many unanswered questions. Supporters of\u200c the officers see this as a welcomed reversal of political motivations,\u2062 while others perceive it \u200das an instance\u200b of incompetence.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney Ken Ervin, representing the officers, \u2063regarded the initial indictments as \u2063a result of politics and incompetence. He \u200cquestioned whether Garza had educated himself on police tactics and \u200csuggested that the prosecutor might have reconsidered his position. This raises concerns about the \u200bextent to which Garza was\u200b informed about the realities of law\u2064 enforcement.<\/p>\n<p>Injuries and Legal Consequences:<\/p>\n<p>District\u200b Attorney Garza alleged in\u2063 2022 that the officers had injured innocent bystanders during the protests, with some suffering serious injuries. The city of Austin has already paid out\u200b over $18 \u200dmillion to settle lawsuits filed \u2062by protesters. The dropping of charges \u2064against these\u200c officers brings into question the \u2062validity\u200c of the claims made by the prosecution.<\/p>\n<p>Conclusion:<\/p>\n<p>The decision of Travis County District Attorney\u2064 Jose Garza to drop charges \u2064against the 17\u200d Austin \u2063police officers accused of assault during\u2064 the George Floyd\u200c protests has elicited mixed reactions. While some \u200dperceive it as an admittance\u200d of incompetence on the part of the prosecution, others view it as a welcome \u2064shift \u2064away from politically motivated indictments. The lack of explanation from \u200dGarza leaves room \u200bfor speculation, and it\u200b remains to be \u2064seen how this decision\u200b will impact the community&#8217;s perception of law enforcement and the justice system moving forward.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Monday, Democrat Texas prosecutor Jose Garza announced the dismissal of assault charges against 17 Austin police officers accused of injuring protesters during the 2020 George Floyd protests<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2301,"featured_media":2116210,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[542],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2116209","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-oann"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116209","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2301"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2116209"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116209\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2116210"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2116209"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2116209"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2116209"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}