Christopher Taylor trial: Jury deliberations continue for second day
AUSTIN, Texas - Jury deliberations have gone into a second day in the trial of Christopher Taylor, an Austin police officer. He is charged with deadly conduct in the 2019 shooting death of Mauris DeSilva.
The jury deliberated for about 10 hours on Wednesday, Oct. 2.
The judge allowed them to go home and rest around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday, but told them to bring an overnight bag in case they had to be sequestered in a hotel until a decision was reached.
They continued into Thursday evening.
On Thursday afternoon, the defense brought up concerns about jurors fearing for their personal safety and how it might influence their decision.
The bailiff, who those concerns were communicated to, was brought in to testify. She says she received a text Saturday morning about a juror concerned someone was following him, and asked if he should call 911.
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APD did a welfare check, but the juror was asleep. He later said he may have been being paranoid.
Another juror told the bailiff she was worried about her personal information being out after the case, but nothing specific prompted that concern.
Jurors have been being escorted to their cars.
The defense asked for individual jurors to be brought in and asked about their concerns, but the judge denied that request. The defense also asked if individual jurors could send notes to the judge. That request was also denied.
The defense called for a mistrial multiple times, which was denied.
Attorneys on both sides were only informed of these issues today. The judge says going forward if there is communication about personal safety, all parties will be consulted to come up with a plan.