By August 2019, Williamson County District Attorney Shawn Dick’s emails to then-Sheriff Robert Chody were testy and terse.
Dick had been trying for months to get raw, unedited footage from a TV reality show shadowing Chody’s deputies into the hands of prosecutors. Dick argued that his office had a legal duty to gather any potential evidence and most especially information that might exonerate a defendant.
“I believe my requests are clear, reasonable, and have consistently been presented to you and your department,” Dick wrote on Aug. 17, 2019.
At the time, Chody juggled Dick’s demands while preserving his participation in “Live PD,” which had made him and several deputies national celebrities. Chody tried to temper Dick’s frustration with a lunch invitation. But over the next several months, the issue would boil over, culminating in Chody’s indictment on evidence tampering charges in the death of Javier Ambler II and the dismissal of dozens of cases stemming fr
In an emphatic break from his predecessors, Travis County District Attorney
José Garza has released the first of what are promised to be bimonthly reports on his office s investigations into allegations of potential misconduct by local law enforcement officers. The five-page brief, issued on Jan. 14, compiles information on each case his office is working – there are more than two dozen, including three that have already resulted in indictments – including the names of those hurt or killed (except when minors or in cases of sexual assault) and of police officers involved. It also estimates when the cases will be presented to grand juries or brought to trial.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza has set a March 30 deadline for himself to ask a grand jury to consider charges against officers in the deaths of Javier Ambler and Michael Ramos, two cases that the new DA has set as a priority for his administration.
On Thursday, Garza released a list of about two dozen cases involving law enforcement officers that could be presented to a grand jury in the future, including six cases that involved the death of a civilian as well as 10 separate complaints from individuals who Austin police hit with beanbag rounds during the May 31 downtown protest against police brutality.
American-Statesman Staff
American-Statesman journalists spent 2020 chronicling the impact on the coronavirus pandemic in Central Texas, unprecedented police protests and implications of the presidential race.
Along the way, the newspaper devoted resources to exclusive reporting and investigative watchdog journalism that often led to reforms or positive changes in our community.
That reporting led to the indictment of the Williamson County sheriff, an investigation into the Texas attorney general, changes in spending plans by the Teachers Retirement System of Texas and a leadership overhaul at Fort Hood as the Statesman sought to hold officials accountable and to push for open government.
Here is a recap of some of those reports that made an impact in 2020.