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.
The killing of
Mike Ramos by police last spring was a direct result of the racism that has permeated policing in Austin, according to a lawsuit filed on behalf of his mother last week.
Brenda Ramos suit, prepared by
Rebecca Webber of the Hendler Flores law firm, asks for a jury trial and damages for the loss of her only son.
Mike Ramos, a Black and Latinx 42-year-old, died on April 24 after officers were summoned to his Southeast Austin apartment complex. A resident had called 911 to complain that a man was holding a gun to a woman s head as the couple did drugs inside a car. Several police units responded to the call, blocking the parking lot exit. Eight officers then pulled their weapons and ordered Ramos out of the car.