Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said he would consider exonerating Austin police officers indicted on charges of using excessive force against protesters who took to the streets in 2020 after the murder of George Floyd.
The Republican governor said in a statement Wednesday that last week’s grand jury indictment of 19 officers might be politically motivated, and he would mull using his pardon power should they be convicted.
“Those officers should be praised for their efforts, not prosecuted,” Abbott said. “Time will tell whether the accusations against the courageous Austin police officers is a political sham. Time will also tell whether I, as governor, must take action to exonerate any police officer unjustly prosecuted.”
NINETEEN AUSTIN POLICE OFFICERS INDICTED OVER HANDLING OF 2020 PROTESTS: REPORT
He said Texas does not “defund and denigrate” law enforcement and should instead “support them for risking their own lives and safety to protect our communities from people who endanger and attack our communities.”
“In 2020, Texas experienced violent protests that wreaked havoc on our cities,” Abbott added. “In Austin, law enforcement officers defended the state Capitol from criminal assault, protected the Austin Police Department headquarters from being overrun, cleared the interstate from being shut down, and disrupted criminal activity in areas across the city.”
A grand jury indicted 19 unidentified Austin police officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, which could carry penalties up to life in prison. Austin Police Chief Joseph Chacon was critical of the indictments at a press conference. Chacon said he believed the officers were defending themselves.
“While I respect the grand jury process, I am disappointed to hear the DA’s press conference statements regarding anticipated indictments of APD officers related to the 2020 protests,” he said. “As a department, we asked these officers to work under the most chaotic of circumstances in May of 2020 and to make split-second decisions to protect all participants.”
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At least 19 people were hospitalized during the racial justice protests in Austin that followed the killing of Floyd, a black man, at the hands of a white police officer in Minneapolis in May 2020. The indicted officers were linked to the injuries of 10 of those present at the protests. Eight of the officers were initially cleared of wrongdoing by an internal investigation, according to the Associated Press.
Austin recorded its highest murder rate since 1984 in 2021 following a $150 million cut to the police department’s budget.
