New Travis County DA shares list of policies his office will adopt

Travis County DA Jose Garza has released a list of policies his office is adopting, including those concerning bail reform and jail sentences.

AUSTIN, Texas - On Friday, newly-minted Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza released a list of policies his office is putting into place.

"The community has made it clear that they expect our office to use our resources prosecuting sexual assault, violence against women, gun violence, and that’s what we’re going to do," he told FOX 7 Austin.

Garza’s administration will continue former District Attorney Margaret Moore's practice of not prosecuting low-level drug possession cases and will stop prosecuting people for selling small amounts of drugs, also known as state-jail amounts. Garza says the office will only prioritize violent dealers.

"What we know from the data is that oftentimes people who are dealing low-levels of drugs are themselves users, and themselves struggling with substance abuse disorder," he said.

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New Travis County DA will fight for officer-involved shooting cases

Jose Garza says one of his highest priorities going into office is getting justice for the families related to officer-involved shooting cases.

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Any prosecutor seeking a sentence of more than twenty years must first receive permission from Garza or two other top-ranking officials. "There will absolutely be instances where what is necessary for the safety of our community is a sentence of longer than twenty years, but we think that that is an important decision and that it’s one the community should be able to weigh in on," Garza said.

Garza has introduced a number of bail-reform suggestions for judges, with the most substantial addressing court attendance. Those who have missed court in the past, but have not attempted to evade police, will no longer be considered a flight risk under the guidelines.

"People miss appointments for all sorts of reasons, because they are working, because they don’t have access to a vehicle because they can’t get leave, because they can’t get childcare," he said.

Garza, who says he is committed to holding "law enforcement accountable," is creating a "do not call to testify" list. If his office receives evidence that an officer's actions jeopardize the integrity of any case, they will conduct a review.

DA to present Ambler, Ramos cases to Grand Jury before March

In addition to the Ramos and Ambler cases, there are six additional cases involving an officer-involved shooting or death in the custody of a law enforcement officer.

"What we will be looking for is officers who have been convicted of a crime, officers who have a history of racist and xenophobic behavior towards witnesses, or on social media, officers who have repeatedly failed to turn on their body cam -- I’m giving some examples," Garza explained.

Officers found guilty in the review process will be placed on this list and barred from testifying in court. They will have the ability to appeal before their name is made public and after. "The district attorney's office has an obligation to make sure that officers who engage in misconduct do not participate in our criminal justice system," Garza said.

Read the full list of new policies in Garza’s letter below:

FOX 7 Austin has contacted the Austin Police Department and Austin Police Association for comment but has not received a response.

Travis County Crime and Public Safety