Court Orders Travis County District Attorney to File Grand Jury in Law Enforcement Use of Force Case

Austin, Texas – Grand jury investigations into cases of use of force must now be recorded. But after a Travis County judge ruled on the extremely rare measure Thursday, District Attorney Jose Garza began to circumvent it.

Court documents show that Doug O’Connell and Ken Ervin, who represent several Austin police officers named by Garza, allege that the district attorney unfairly withheld important information from the grand jury in order to advance a political agenda.

The court’s ruling only includes information presented to the grand jury, not discussion or voting.

In response to the order of D.A. Garza issued a press release saying that he would bypass the grand jury in the case of APD officer Alex Gaitan using a legal process called filing, which allows his office to file a preliminary indictment without indictment.

CLEAT head Charlie Wilkison criticized Garza’s actions, calling them “illegal” and “a clumsy way to hide evidence.”

The DA’s office says the charges against Gaitan are related to an investigation into his alleged assault on a man on March 12, 2021.

Officer Gaitan will be entitled to a pre-trial if he requests one, which is a public hearing in which the prosecution presents evidence to allow a justice of the peace to “verify the truth of the allegations made”.

“Our consent notice means we won’t mind if Officer Gaitan requests a trial,” Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said. “Our office will continue to hold law enforcement officers who are involved in criminal activities accountable and will do so in a transparent manner.”