Texas DA says no charges for police in terror attack response amid criticism of mandatory grand jury review

A Texas progressive territory lawyer said helium volition not question charges against the Austin constabulary officers who fatally changeable a gunman who killed 3 radical and injured 13 others successful a suspected panic onslaught amid speculation that they could perchance look a expansive jury.

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza released a connection aft Gov. Greg Abbott said helium would yet person the last accidental should the serviceman beryllium charged oregon convicted successful court. 

"These officers are heroes, and it should spell without saying that my bureau is not seeking immoderate charges and would not question charges," Garza said. "The accounts to the contrary are false, intentionally false, and are being peddled for evident governmental purposes."

Garza's bureau was the taxable of disapproval aft it became known that the officers could perchance look a expansive assemblage arsenic portion of a 2021 argumentation that each officer-involved shooting cases and superior use-of-force incidents beryllium presented to a expansive assemblage for review.

The Austin Police Department and the FBI analyse a shooting astatine Buford's connected West 6th Street successful Austin, Texas, connected March 1, 2026.  (Stephanie Tacy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Doug O’Connell, whose instrumentality steadfast O’Connell West has been tapped to correspond the officers astatine the behest of the Austin Police Association, said the reappraisal is portion of a argumentation instituted by Garza. 

Garza, O'Connell said, demanded the argumentation astatine the absorption of the Wren Collective, a progressive transgression justness betterment nonprofit that backs wide DAs and is chiefly composed of erstwhile nationalist defenders seeking to overhaul the American justness system. 

"It's my content that the Wren Collective has directed the territory lawyer to reappraisal officer-involved cases this way," O'Connell told Fox News Digital. "It seems they're precise anti-law enforcement officers."

Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza speaks astatine a quality conference. (Jay Janner / The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

The Austin constabulary officers changeable and killed Ndiaga Diagne, a 53-year-old naturalized U.S. national calved successful Senegal, aboriginal Sunday aft helium opened occurrence astatine a bar, Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden, sidesplitting Savitha Shan, 21, Jorge Pederson, 30; and 19-year-old Ryder Harrington.

Fox News Digital has reached retired to Garza's office.

In a connection to Fox News Digital, Wren Collective laminitis Jessica Brand thanked the responding officers for their actions, which she credited for redeeming much lives. 

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Ndiaga Diagne, 53, changeable and killed 2 radical and injured 14 others, constabulary said. He was wearing a garment featuring an Iran flag. (Obtained by Fox News)

"Three radical died successful a wide shooting past week, much radical were harmed, families are grieving, and the full metropolis is successful mourning," she said. "The officers did heroic enactment and stopped what could person been an adjacent bigger tragedy. As an Austin resident, I convey them, and besides those radical providing enactment for the galore victims and their loved ones now."

O'Connell said Garza ran connected a run of targeting constabulary officers successful an anti-police climate. 

The DA instituted the reappraisal successful 2021 amid calls for greater instrumentality enforcement accountability pursuing the decease of George Floyd successful Minneapolis, which besides sparked nationwide calls to defund constabulary agencies. 

In summation to worrying astir unit directed astatine them, officers present person to interest astir imaginable ineligible action, O'Connell said. 

"Every clip an serviceman is dispatched to a convulsive transgression call, they've got to beryllium thinking: ‘I could beryllium killed oregon depending connected however this goes, I could beryllium indicted,'" O'Connell said. 

In a station connected X, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott praised the officers portion noting that Garza's bureau isn't the end-all should the officers progressive beryllium charged oregon convicted successful court. 

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Austin constabulary enactment astatine the country of a shooting connected West 6th Street connected Sunday wherever 3 radical were changeable and killed earlier the gunman was killed by responding authorities.  (Jay Janner/The Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images)

"These constabulary officers are heroes who saved lives. Whatever the DA does, I volition person the last accidental successful the destiny of these constabulary officers," helium wrote connected X. 

Fox News Digital has reached retired to Abbott's bureau for clarity connected his remarks. 

Texas authorities Rep. Mitch Little, a Republican who formerly served arsenic the impeachment lawyer for Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, told Fox News Digital determination was nary ineligible justification to person a expansive assemblage for each azygous serviceman progressive shooting.

"The lone mentation for that is simply a leftist ideological bent connected the portion of the territory attorney’s office," helium said. 

Meanwhile, overmuch of the disapproval of the mandatory reappraisal stems from its deficiency of transparency, O'Connell said, 

"Nothing astir it is just oregon balanced. The territory lawyer holds each the powerfulness erstwhile it comes to expansive juries," helium said, noting that defence lawyers aren't allowed to beryllium contiguous oregon contiguous evidence. 

"We cognize that expansive juries person been manipulated due to the fact that we've had to support officers who person been indicted," helium added. 

Members of the FBI and section instrumentality enforcement analyse extracurricular of Buford's barroom successful downtown connected March 01, 2026 successful Austin, Texas. Three radical are dormant and 14 others hospitalized pursuing a wide shooting aboriginal Sunday morning.   (Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

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Michael Bullock, the president of the Austin Police Association, the national that represents rank-and-file officers, said helium believed determination was already "sufficient information" successful the nationalist sphere that shows that a expansive assemblage isn't necessary. 

"There’s nary request to taxable these officers to that particularly since it’s taking the DA implicit a twelvemonth successful astir each lawsuit to contiguous these to the expansive jury," helium wrote Tuesday connected X. "That’s mode excessively agelong and added accent for officers who person already been done a lot."

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