Austin Police Officer Chris Taylor Is Being Unjustly Prosecuted by Leftist DA

mikegriffith1

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Officer Chris Taylor of the Austin Police Department in Austin, Texas, is facing trial for murder for the third time, thanks to a leftist DA. His trial has been set for September 23, 2024.

In July 2019, Taylor shot a knife-wielding man who refused to halt and refused to drop his knife and kept coming toward Taylor and other law enforcement personnel who were in an elevator. Taylor waited until the man was within six feet before shooting him--again, after the man refused to halt and refused to drop his knife.

An Internal Affairs investigation cleared Officer Taylor, concluding that he acted justifiably and in accordance with police procedure in such situations. But, in 2021, a newly elected leftist DA decided to reopen Taylor's case and charged him with murder.

His first trial was a mistrial because they ran out of jurors to pick from. His second trial also ended in a mistrial because of a hung jury: 8-4 for a not guilty verdict. But the DA has decided to bring Taylor to trial once again.

The National Center for Police Defense provides more detail:

On July 31, 2019, Officer Christopher Taylor and other officers were called to a high-rise apartment complex where scared residents had reported that a man was stalking the halls with a large knife, menacing people.

When they arrived, the front desk clerk and the security guard told them that the suspect had been in the lobby with a knife to his neck, but now he was upstairs in his apartment. Chris felt that since the suspect was in his apartment, he was contained and not an immediate threat to anyone. So he called for more officers as backup.

While they were putting together a plan, the security guard told them the suspect had left his apartment with the large knife. The suspect was no longer contained, and now he was a threat to everyone in the building.

In fact, the suspect went to the fifth floor, where all residents can access the gym and the pool, and was acting erratically while wielding his large knife. The urgency of stopping the knife-wielding suspect was skyrocketing by the second.

Chris decided that they would go up the elevator and intercept the dangerous suspect. Chris, the security guard, and three other police officers took the elevator up to the fifth floor. When the elevator doors opened, they saw the suspect standing in a narrow hallway holding the knife.

He was maybe six feet away from them, and they were jam-packed in an elevator with nowhere to retreat.

Chris told the knife-wielding man, “Let me see your hands,” and other officers began ordering the knife-wielding man to drop the knife. Instead, the knife-wielding man moved toward Chris and his fellow officers in the elevator. Chris only had a split-second to react.

In law enforcement, there is something called the 21-foot rule. It says that a suspect with a knife who is closer than 21 feet to you can close that distance and lethally stab you before you can draw your gun…and here Officer Taylor was less than six feet away!

Chris followed his training and fatally wounded the knife-wielding suspect before he could stab Chris and his fellow officers.

After a thorough investigation, the Austin Police Department ruled that Chris was justified in using deadly force. After all, this knife-wielding suspect ignored officers’ commands to drop his weapon and instead moved toward the officers while they were in a confined space.

That should have been the end of it. And it was — for a while. Remember, this happened back in 2019. And after the department cleared Chris of wrongdoing, he put it out of his mind and went on being an excellent cop.

But in 2021, a new socialist District Attorney named José Garza was elected with a radical agenda.

Garza was elected with the backing of convicted felon and ultra-leftist billionaire George Soros, who favors defunding the police and letting criminals out of prison. Garza immediately went on a rampage against
police officers and mined old cases to dredge up charges.

José Garza indicted Chris for murder — a charge that can carry a life sentence in prison if convicted. Chris was shocked and dismayed. He did everything by the book and had already been cleared. (https://nationalcenterforpolicedefense.com/case-file/officer-chris-taylor-austin-tx/)
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You know. This officer may not be guilty. But you don't help your case when you refer to the prosecutor as "leftist" and "socialist."

Both of which I find hard to believe. Making everything into a left right issue does not serve justice.

I live in Seattle. I distinctly remember Officer Ian Burk killing woodcarver John T Williams. Burk was never prosecuted. He wasn't even decertified as a police officer. I watched in horror as he needlessly shot Williams 4 times. I've seen other disturbing videos of police officers unjustly killing, shooting and assaulting citizens and never held accountable.

Police Officers are human beings. Most are good, but far too many aren't and shouldn't have a badge. Accountability is often seen by officers as a negative. But it really is good for society and should be encouraged.
 
I don't know about the case that much, but the name calling of the DA turns me off.
Though I do think, even in liberal cities, convictingos agains cops shooting suspects ataacking the cops with a dangerus weapon are very, very, hard to get.
 
dudalb said:
I don't know about the case that much, but the name calling of the DA turns me off.
Though I do think, even in liberal cities, convictingos agains cops shooting suspects ataacking the cops with a dangerus weapon are very, very, hard to get.
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I live in Seattle. Right wingers think it is one of the most liberal cities in the country. I can't even remember a police officer in the county ever being held accountable for excessive violence or killing a citizen. It just doesn't happen. Even though there has been some pretty awful and highly questionable events have been recorded by cell phones and dash-cams.

I can only remember one officer even being fired and that was after countless accusations of excessive force. The last time this King County Sherriff tackled a citizen waiting in a theater line. He not only put the man in the hospital, he caused permanent brain damage. It did cost the county millions in damages.

Being a police officer is a challenging job. I get that. But it shouldn't be a blank check to be a thug.
 
Wow!

Mike Griffith's explanation is missing some salient details.
Officer Taylor appears to be a trigger happy man with a badge. Inside of two years Officer Taylor opened fired and killed two citizens. One unarmed, the other reported by the two officers charged to have a knife.

A mistrial of Officer Taylor was declared in the April 2020 shooting of Michael Ramos.

Police were investigating reports of a man with a gun using drugs with other people inside a car in the parking lot.

The woman who said she made the call, Meko Scott, testified during Taylor’s trial that she wishes she could take back saying she saw a man with a gun. She said she never saw a gun and reported what other bystanders had said and apologized to Ramos’ family.

A search of the car failed to turn up a gun, police said later. The entire episode was captured on police video.

Then-Police Chief Brian Manley said Ramos got out of the car with his hands up and his shirt raised as if to show he had no gun in his waistband, but then ignored officer’s orders to remain outside the car and was shot first with a beanbag, then with a rifle by Taylor as Ramos drove away.

He is also awaiting trial in the incident involving the knife.

Officer Taylor may just be unlucky. Or he is stupid, violent and shouldn't have a badge.
 
The "knife wielding" man case that Mickey refers to in his op is not the one Taylor's being tried for, this is the one where Taylor falsely accused an unarmed man of holding a gun before cold bloodly murdering him. The "knife wielding" man case is a different one that Taylor is not currently under indictment for, where he murdered a doctor.

Remember kiddos in every town, city and county in the US the biggest, meanest, most well armed and most criminal gang will be operating out of a police station.
 
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The fact that a DA, any DA, thinks they can bring a case against a Cop suggests that there is some really damming evidence against him.
 
How DARE those leftist DA's uphold and apply the law to a completely innocent policeman who was just going about his gawd-assigned job of assaulting and shooting people without provocation or justification! The world has gone completely commie!
 
I presume leftist in this instance means someone who has suggested that just maybe rounding up the ******* and shooting them may not be due process?
 
acbytesla said:
You know. This officer may not be guilty. But you don't help your case when you refer to the prosecutor as "leftist" and "socialist." Both of which I find hard to believe. Making everything into a left right issue does not serve justice.
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But the prosecutor is a leftist. He is unabashedly leftist. So what is the problem with noting this fact?

Needless to say, no conservative DA would ever charge a police officer with murder for firing on a knife-wielding man who was coming straight at him after ignoring orders to halt and drop his knife.

And shame on the man's family for blaming Officer Taylor and for claiming that the man was "merely" having a "mental health" episode, as if that somehow makes Taylor guilty for defending himself and his fellow law officers.
 
mikegriffith1 said:
But the prosecutor is a leftist. He is unabashedly leftist. So what is the problem with noting this fact?
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So what?

Maybe we should also "note" what type of car he drives, what kind of beer he drinks, what he watches on TV, which football team he supports. That may be relevant to the situation too.

Or possibly not.
 
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mikegriffith1 said:
But the prosecutor is a leftist. He is unabashedly leftist. So what is the problem with noting this fact?
Needless to say, no conservative DA would ever charge a police officer with murder for firing on a knife-wielding man who was coming straight at him after ignoring orders to halt and drop his knife.

And shame on the man's family for blaming Officer Taylor and for claiming that the man was "merely" having a "mental health" episode, as if that somehow makes Taylor guilty for defending himself and his fellow law officers.
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Says who? The police union? Some Republican he ran against? I bet the prosecutor doesn't describe himself as "leftist." Seriously, what does that even mean?

Shame on them for describing a man threatening suicide a mental health episode? Officers would call that a mental health episode. And tell me again how wrong this is after you watch the dashcam video of Seattle Police Officer Ian Burk shooting John T Williams.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the conservative/liberal, left/right dichotomy that you insist on turning everything into. I BEG YOU TO STOP!

I KNOW these things are tricky. They certainly can't be summed up in the short news stories I've read or the press release you provided.
 
mikegriffith1 said:
But the prosecutor is a leftist. He is unabashedly leftist. So what is the problem with noting this fact?
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Because it's irrelevant. He campaigned on a platform of holding police accountable in such questionable incidents and the people elected him. Your version of the story is peppered with inflammatory language that serves as little more than a dog whistle.

Needless to say, no conservative DA would ever charge a police officer with murder for firing on a knife-wielding man who was coming straight at him after ignoring orders to halt and drop his knife.
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More responsible reporting gives a different version of what happened.

And it doesn't matter if a different person would choose not to indict. This DA is the one who was elected.

And shame on the man's family for blaming Officer Taylor and for claiming that the man was "merely" having a "mental health" episode, as if that somehow makes Taylor guilty for defending himself and his fellow law officers.
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More responsible reporting gives a different version of what happened.
 
mikegriffith1 said:
But the prosecutor is a leftist. He is unabashedly leftist. So what is the problem with noting this fact?

Needless to say, no conservative DA would ever charge a police officer with murder for firing on a knife-wielding man who was coming straight at him after ignoring orders to halt and drop his knife.

And shame on the man's family for blaming Officer Taylor and for claiming that the man was "merely" having a "mental health" episode, as if that somehow makes Taylor guilty for defending himself and his fellow law officers.
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Gulliver Foyle brings up the question of whether your initial account is accurate as to what the officer is being tried for. Before going off on the political bent of the participants, do you have a source for your information other than the web site of the defendant?

I really don't know who is telling the truth here, but I think since you are the one who introduced the subject, perhaps it should be up to you to clarify the facts using something other than cut and paste from the defendant's web page.

e.t.a. I couldn't help myself. If what I read is correct, the crime for which Taylor faces trial is the shooting of an unarmed suspect attempting to flee in his car. If I have this wrong, I trust Mr. Griffith will correct it with reliable information from some reliable source.

further ETA, he apparently also faces trial for the knife wielding suspect but that is not a retrial. The mistrials had to do with the unarmed man in the car.
 
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Lefties always try to hide behind the details. They call them "facts" and "evidence" and other such $5 words.

But ConSerVatives are true men, and defend America's Principles. They know, and love what they know. For ConsErvAtiveS, the Higher Law is the real law.

I think I've made their point. And mine.
 
mikegriffith1 said:
But the prosecutor is a leftist. He is unabashedly leftist. So what is the problem with noting this fact?

Needless to say, no conservative DA would ever charge a police officer with murder for firing on a knife-wielding man who was coming straight at him after ignoring orders to halt and drop his knife.

And shame on the man's family for blaming Officer Taylor and for claiming that the man was "merely" having a "mental health" episode, as if that somehow makes Taylor guilty for defending himself and his fellow law officers.
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Nice use of the South Park "It's coming right for us!" defence.
 
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