DPS trooper, Austin officer cleared in East Austin officer-involved shooting

DPS trooper, Austin officer cleared in OIS

A Travis County jury recently concluded its review of an August 2022 officer-involved shooting and did not return indictments for the DPS trooper and the Austin police officer.

AUSTIN, Texas - A Travis County grand jury has cleared a DPS trooper and an Austin police officer in a use of force case connected to an August 2022 shooting incident in East Austin.

The jury concluded its review of the incident involving Trooper Austin Ostrander and Ofc. Michael Bradburn on Dec. 5 and did not return indictments for either one.

Police release bodycam footage of officer-involved shooting in Austin

Austin police said the suspect was shot by police after jumping in a victim's vehicle and telling them to drive off.

"The District Attorney’s office takes the work of presenting all facts and evidence to a grand jury very seriously," said District Attorney Jose Garza. "In this case, an independent group of members of the Travis County community heard the evidence and law and decided that Officer Bradburn’s and Trooper Ostrander’s conduct was not unlawful."

Austin police say that on August 8, 2022, a traffic stop turned into an attempted carjacking, then an officer-involved shooting within minutes. At around 11:15 p.m., APD says one of its officers was conducting a traffic stop at US 290 and Cameron Road for a motorcyclist operating a vehicle without a license plate.

Officer-involved shooting in East Austin

The Austin Police Department is investigating an incident that happened after 11 p.m. on Cameron Road near Highway 290.

The suspect, later identified as Brandon Munoz, then ran toward a shopping center, got into a parked car, and tried to carjack the vehicle, telling the driver to back out, according to law enforcement.

The driver of the vehicle got out uninjured, but Ostrander and Bradburn both fired at Munoz, hitting him. He was taken to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries.

Munoz was charged with first-degree felony aggravated kidnapping, and according to Travis County court records, was placed on deferred adjudication on Sept. 8, 2023.

The DA's office says that since Jan. 1, 2021, 91 cases against law enforcement officers have been presented to a grand jury, and in 58 of those cases, the grand jury did not return indictments.

FOX 7 Austin's Casey Claiborne, John Krinjak and Meredith Aldis contributed to this report.