By American-Statesman Editorial Board
Michael Ramos raised his hands, lifted his shirt and declared he had no gun. Austin police officers shot him anyway first with a bean bag round, and then, as Ramos tried to flee, with the bullets that took his life.
“That’s wrong! That’s wrong!” a woman cried out in a bystander video of the April 2020 shooting. We agreed then. A Travis County grand jury agrees now.
This week’s indictment of Officer Christopher Taylor for first-degree murder brings an anguished community one step closer to accountability for a death that never should have happened. Ramos, a 42-year-old Black and Latino man, found himself surrounded by eight police officers at a Southeast Austin apartment complex after a 911 caller reported, incorrectly, that Ramos was handling a gun. He was, in fact, unarmed.
A Travis County grand jury has indicted Austin Police Officer
Christopher Taylor on a charge of first-degree murder for the fatal shooting of
Michael Ramos at a Southeast Austin apartment complex on April 24, 2020, a source close to the case confirms to the
Chronicle.
The
Statesman reports that a warrant has been issued for Taylor’s arrest, but as of Wednesday evening, he had not been booked into the Travis County jail. Travis County District Attorney
José Garza could not confirm or deny the indictment, because state law prevents him from doing so until a subject is in custody.
The police response that led to the fatal shooting began with a 911 caller falsely claiming that Ramos was doing drugs in his vehicle, was threatening a female companion, and that he had a gun. Cell phone video recorded by bystanders and seen widely in the days following the shooting shows Ramos with both hands in the air while the eight officers on scene shout commands at him. Body cam footage
Austin 911 adds fourth option for mental health services
Austin 911 adds fourth option for mental health services
This month, Austin 911 operators have begun asking if the caller needs police, fire, EMS, or mental health services.
AUSTIN, Texas - Austin has become one of the first cities in the country to offer a fourth option to callers when dialing 911.
According to a 2018 city audit of the 15 largest cities in America, the Austin Police Department ranked the highest per capita for fatal shootings involving people facing a mental health crisis. This fourth option for 911 callers is meant to finally curve that number. Austin is going to be among the very first cities in the country where if you dial 911, you get the question Austin 911: Do you need police, fire, EMS, or mental health services? said Greg Casar, City Council Member for District 4.
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.