New Austin police chief, Travis County DA trying to work together

AUSTIN, Texas - The Travis County district attorney and Austin police officers have had a tense relationship in recent years. The police union continues to blame Jose Garza for the recent spike in murders. However, the new police chief and district attorney said they are trying to work together.

"If a law enforcement officer breaks the law, they will be held accountable, and it is disappointing but not at all surprising that the police union is spending their time defending misconduct by law enforcement officers instead of working with us to root it out," Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said in May 2021.

"It’s an absolute disgrace, and it sickens me that DA Garza is using officers as a pawn in a political game of chess," former Austin Police Association President Ken Casaday said in February 2022.

Garza has promised voters a far more aggressive approach than his predecessors in holding officers to account. About three weeks into his tenure, a grand jury indicted two Austin police officers, many of whom have since been dismissed.

"Decisions in all felony criminal cases are made by this community. The people get the final say. They get the final say through grand juries and ultimately through trial juries," Garza said.

"To try to blame our community or say they’re the ones that did this, not me, is extremely disingenuous because he controls the information that gets presented," Austin Police Association President Michael Bullock said.

Garza has only secured one conviction so far, a deadly misconduct charge for Christopher Taylor. Four more Austin Police Officers are set to go to trial next year.

Lisa Davis, new to Austin, and a new police chief, could bring a new perspective.

"Good cops do not want to work with bad cops. They just don't, and so when we can look at that as an organization on maybe they're not cut out to be a cop, let's get them out of here. I'd much rather do that than have someone facing a trial and facing some indictment. That is not anything I want to see for an officer," Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said.

Davis said she wants what’s best for her officers, which might mean discipline within the department.

"To potentially save someone's career or to keep them out of that type of trouble, I think we owe that to them. And I think that's why I want the officers to know that my support for them is about when we're looking at discipline. I want discipline. It has to be fair, and it has to be impartial, and sometimes that may not be, whether that’s a move or something that they don’t agree with," Davis said.

Bullock said he feels like the DA is actively working against Austin police officers.

Last month, there were 11 homicides in Austin. The police department has made 8 arrests. Of those, 4 suspects had criminal histories during Garza’s reign, but the charges were either pleaded down or the cases were unresolved.

"It's extremely demoralizing when you see your work product get dismantled, and you have to repeat it all over again," Bullock said.

Garza said he is working with the new police chief to improve the safety of the community.

"I am committed to working with Chief Davis and the department and all of our law enforcement partners to ensure that they continue to feel that way as they carry out these dangerous and important jobs in our community," Garza said.

"We all may not agree on how we get there, but we're going to listen to each other. We're going to hear the sides, the different sides and the processes in place that we have to work together," Davis said.

Bullock said he wants to be at the table, too.

"If he's willing to talk with us and willing to hear our side of the story and our concerns and actually take them into consideration, well, then maybe we can start to move forward," Bullock said.