APD officer faces second indictment in connection to May 2020 protests
AUSTIN, Texas - An Austin Police Department (APD) officer who was indicted last year following May 2020 racial justice protests received another indictment, according to court documents.
APD officer Jeffrey Teng was one of 19 officers indicted last year in connection to May 2020 racial justice protests. He was indicted for aggravated assault in 2022.
Teng is now facing a deadly conduct discharge of a firearm charge.
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Ken Ervin and Doug O'Connell are the defense attorneys for Teng. They released a statement following the new indictment.
"We're deeply disturbed by D.A. Garza’s decision to have his attorneys email us at noon on Memorial Day advising APD Officer Teng would be facing another grand jury in less than 24 hours. We were given only eight hours to submit any materials we wanted the grand jury to consider and decide whether Officer Teng would testify. We believe this grand jury presentation was scheduled far in advance of the notice we received and that this last-minute notice was intentional. Despite the short timeline, we still managed to secure a second court order forcing the D.A.’s Office, over its objection, to record the entirety of the grand jury proceedings against Officer Teng.As of today we still cannot understand a legitimate reason for Officer Teng’s second indictment on a lesser charge now one year after his first indictment and three years after the event in question.
As we previously witnessed D.A. Garza claim unspecified "new evidence" forced the dismissal of APD Officer Gebhart’s indictment, we predict Officer Teng’s new indictment, as well as the other new APD indictments mentioned by the media, are ultimately a mechanism manufactured by D.A. Garza to avoid future criticism: We predict D.A. Garza will again claim unnamed "new evidence" forms the basis of the new indictments while also claiming it is the reason many existing indictments must be dismissed. When those dismissals occur, it will support what we have said from the beginning — these indictments were political theater and illegitimate from the outset. What happened in the 2020 Austin riots has not suddenly changed and there is no new evidence three years later.
APD Officer Jeff Teng is a well-respected law enforcement professional. Prior to serving our community he served in the United States Navy for five years, twice deploying to Iraq in support of Naval Special Warfare Command. His military awards include two Navy & Marine Corps Achievement Medals, the Good Conduct Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal. After his honorable discharge from the military, he earned three Associate of Arts degrees, and he continues to pursue his bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice.
We are honored to represent Officer Teng and look forward to a jury acquitting him of all charges."