AUSTIN, Texas — Austin police officer Christopher Taylor has been sentenced to two years in prison for the deadly shooting of Mauris DeSilva in 2019.
Taylor is believed to be the first officer ever convicted in Travis County for an on-duty fatal shooting and the first to face a prison sentence.
In early October, a jury found Taylor guilty of deadly conduct in DeSilva's death. DeSilva was experiencing a mental health crisis and was holding a knife when police were called to his Downtown Austin condo building.
Later in October, the sentencing phase of Taylor's trial began, with the prosecution presenting testimony for two days, followed by the defense doing the same for two days in November. On Tuesday, Judge Dayna Blazey announced her sentencing for Taylor.
The conviction and sentence also represent the fulfillment of a promise of police accountability by District Attorney José Garza, who ran on that platform in the aftermath of the social justice movement in 2020.
Garza’s office has taken multiple officers to trial but none were convicted.
Background on this case and Christopher Taylor
On July 31, 2019, Austin Police Department (APD) officers, including Taylor, responded to 911 calls coming from the Spring Condominiums in Downtown Austin.
At the time, DeSilva was said to be going through a mental health crisis. Officers found DeSilva inside the building, armed with a knife, threatening to harm himself. They told him to drop the knife, but after he failed to do so, Taylor shot DeSilva.
In August 2021, Taylor and Officer Karl Krycia were indicted for murder in DeSilva's death. In September of this year, days before Taylor's trial was set to begin, prosecutors announced they would be seeking a conviction on deadly conduct rather than murder.
Taylor's trial lasted nearly two weeks before the jury returned a guilty verdict on Oct. 6. The sentencing phase of Taylor's trial began in late October, with the prosecution presenting testimony. The defense did the same in late November.
This was not Taylor's first trial. In May of last year, Taylor was expected to stand trial on a murder charge in connection with the 2020 shooting of Michael Ramos – but a mistrial was declared amid allegations of potential jury tampering and the inability to seat a jury.
Then, in October 2023, Taylor did stand trial for that charge, but the jury deadlocked. Prosecutors have since said they will not retry Taylor in the Ramos case.
Defense's final witnesses
Before the sentence was handed down by Judge Blazey, Taylor's defense tried to bring in Margaret Moore, the former Travis County district attorney who served before Garza, to testify.
Back in 2019, under Moore's direction, the DA's office did not pursue charges against Taylor for the deadly shooting of DeSilva.
Moore was stopped during testimony and not able to finish because of the prosecution's objections. Judge Blazey had formerly worked closely with Moore for four years in her "inner circle chain of command," so the judge decided to recuse herself from hearing her testimony. Taylor's defense then withdrew her as their final witness.
Could Taylor have gotten probation?
There was also a lot of talk about the possibility of officer Taylor getting probation for his sentence. Both sides were asked by the court to submit briefs on if they believed Taylor would be eligible.
Under Texas law, there are circumstances where a judge can suspend a sentence and be given probation instead. But if there is a finding that the defendant used a deadly weapon in the crime, probation is off the table.
The state argued that since the jury found Taylor guilty based on the indictment that alleged he used a firearm to shoot DeSilva, there was a finding of a deadly weapon, making Taylor not eligible for probation.
Taylor's defense presented a 2015 case as evidence that the judge should have the discretion to decline the deadly weapon finding assumption. They pointed out that the jury wasn't officially asked to make a deadly weapon finding in their verdict; it was something the state would have had to request them to do. So they argue, it can't be inferred that there was a deadly weapon finding.
Judge Blazey sided with the state, finding that the jury's guilt verdict did express a deadly weapon finding.
Closing arguments
The state opened up their closing arguments on Tuesday afternoon showing Officer Taylor's body camera footage from the deadly shooting of Michael Ramos in 2020. State prosecutors argued there were consistencies in Taylor's behavior in both shootings, that Taylor was the one to designate himself the duty of lethal force.
"There are multiple places where you can look, you can see the difference in an ordinary and prudent person and what Chris Taylor did," said Rob Drummond, a state prosecutor.
Prosecution also argued that during sentencing, the defense was attacking the jury's verdict. They said the jury's verdict shows that the shooting of DeSilva was "not immediately necessary" and DeSilva did not pose any threat to Taylor or any other person.
"Mauris DeSilva's shooting death was avoidable, it was unnecessary and it finds no justification under our law," said Dexter Gilford, a state prosecutor.
Gilford also argued that other counties in the state, like Dallas and Tarrant counties, have gotten convictions of officers and it hasn't affected their police staffing.
"This is not some unique Travis County campaign," Gilford said. "We haven't heard that all of a sudden there's no recruitment, no one wants to be a police officer. Judge, that is an attempt to badger you – this is not your responsibility."
Taylor's defense started their closing arguments by bringing up how two different juries were not able to come to a decision in the Ramos case, and if there was a different jury in the DeSilva case, there could have potentially been a different outcome. They also brought up the fact that previous Travis County DA Moore passed on prosecuting this case and decided it was a legally justified shooting.
"It's inherently unfair to punish one individual when the broad consensus is he did what was right, he followed training, followed protocol, he followed the law," said Ken Ervin, Taylor's defense attorney. "He did what he had to do and he was authorized to do."
Mauris DeSilva's father addresses Taylor
After Judge Blazey gave the sentence, Mauris DeSilva's father, Denzil DeSilva, was able to speak directly to Taylor. He expressed that he and his wife have been suffering the loss greatly, and that they just wanted justice for their family.
"We lost him because of your ignorance. You were reckless," DeSilva said. "You know very well that he was not a danger to you, Mr. Taylor, or anyone else. I have no idea why you decided to shoot him."
Verdict reactions
Garza put out a statement on Tuesday evening after the sentence. Below is an excerpt from that statement.
“We are grateful for our devoted team who worked diligently to ensure accountability for the defendant and to seek justice for the victim and their family,” shared Garza. “We truly hope this outcome brings comfort and support to the DeSilva family as they continue their healing journey.”
The Austin Police Association also reacted on Tuesday evening, expressing its disappointment in the district attorney. Below is an excerpt from that statement as well.
"It has become abundantly clear that DA Jose Garza is only interested in playing political games. Throughout this trial they have ignored and tried to discredit their own experts, claimed to be tactical experts, gone after other officers who were called in to testify, and made every attempt to vilify the Austin Police Department ... He [Garza] has spent untold amounts of taxpayer money to repeatedly go after Detective Taylor who was put in an impossible situation and forced to defend himself and others against someone high on meth and armed with a knife."
What's next for Taylor?
Immediately after the sentence, Taylor's defense attorneys appealed the ruling. Judge Blazey is allowing Taylor to remain out on an appellate bond while awaiting to hear the appeal. There is no estimate yet of how long this appeal could take.