Austin Police Officer Acquitted in 2019 Shooting by Appeals Court

AUSTIN, TX — An appeals court has overturned the conviction of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor in a fatal shooting in downtown Austin in 2019.

Taylor’s lawyer announced the acquittal on social media late Tuesday.

Taylor was convicted of deadly conduct by an Austin jury in the 2019 fatal shooting of Mauris DeSilva, who was holding a knife when Taylor shot him in DeSilva’s downtown condo building. The shooting occurred after officers responded to a 911 call about a man with a knife. Officers confronted DeSilva a few feet away from the elevator.

Taylor was originally indicted for murder, but his charge was reduced to deadly conduct before the start of the trial.

Taylor was the first Austin police officer in the Austin police department’s modern history to be convicted for an on-duty police shooting. He was sentenced to two years in prison by a judge, but was free on bond pending the outcome of the appeal.

In Tuesday’s decision, the Seventh Court of Appeals wrote that "the record still establishes justification" for the shooting.

"The body-worn camera footage shows officers confined inside an elevator as the doors open onto a hallway," Justice Alex Yarbrough wrote for the court. "DeSilva is initially facing a mirror with a knife to his own throat. When the doors open, DeSilva turns toward the officers, reorients the knife away from himself and toward them, and advances in their direction. The officers have no meaningful avenue of retreat or ability to create distance. DeSilva, by contrast, has the hallway behind him. He does not retreat."

The court said the decision to reverse the judgment of the trial court was a matter of "legal sufficiency" and "not a reweighting of evidence.”

Taylor was also tried for murder in the 2020 shooting in on-duty fatal shooting of Michael Ramos. Taylor was responding to a call that claimed Ramos had a gun and was pointing it at a woman. It later turned out Ramos did not have a gun.

However, police tried to use non-lethal attempts on Ramos, who was shot with a pellet-filled bag. However, Ramos re-entered his car and began to drive away, which is when he was shot by Taylor.

Taylor claimed he fired because once Ramos began driving, he feared for the safety of his colleagues. An Austin Police Department report concluded that Ramos intended to use the moving vehicle as a deadly weapon and found that Taylor was justified to shoot.

The case ended in a mistrial.

Texas lawmakers this year passed legislation exempting law enforcement officers from being charged with deadly conduct for actions taken in the line of duty.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.