A Travis County grand jury has indicted three Austin officers in connection to two separate use of force incidents, KVUE's and the Austin American-Statesman's Tony Plohetski has confirmed.
Chas Moore, founder of Austin Justice Coalition said Chief Manley called him Thursday afternoon when the news broke.
"The chief got something on his desk that didn't seem right and it went up the proper chain of command and they handled the issue," said Moore. "I think it's a huge step in the right direction not only for the police department, but for the community as a whole."
The indictments include two SWAT officers -- Donald Petraitis and Robert Pfaff -- on charges of assault and abusing their authority, according to Plohetski. Our media partners at the Austin American-Statesman reported Pfaff was also indicted on a charge of aggravated perjury.
The officers' charges were handed down in relation to their response to assist a gunshot victim on Feb. 16, 2018 near Red River Street and 12th Street, according to a press release from the officers' attorneys.
Petraitis and Pfaff are facing charges of assault, abuse of official capacity and official oppression after they allegedly used a taser on Quentin Perkins with intent of causing bodily injury, according to court documents.
Another officer, Nathaniel Stallings, also turned himself in regarding his incident on Oct. 6, 2017. Stallings is being charged with assault causing bodily injury and abuse of official capacity for allegedly grabbing Cursha Townsend and causing her to hit her head on the hood of a vehicle, according to an arrest affidavit.
APD held a press conference Thursday regarding the indictments:
VIEW THE INDICTMENTS HERE:
Austin Officer Indictment Petraitis by kvuenews on Scribd
Austin Officer Indictment Stallings by kvuenews on Scribd
Attorney's representing Petraitis and Pfaff released this statement Thursday:
We were disappointed to learn today that Austin Police Department Officers Petraitis and Pfaff were indicted on charges relating to their response to assist a gunshot victim on February 16, 2018, near Red River and 12th Street. Upon arrival at the scene of the shooting, the officers found a victim with gunshot wounds surrounded by a group of people that may have included the shooter. While attempting to secure the scene, a Taser was deployed against a person the officers believed posed a safety risk to everyone in the vicinity. The officers’ actions were necessary, appropriate, and consistent with APD training. The District Attorney’s Office believes the Taser deployment was a criminal act, and believes a discrepancy exists between an officer’s body camera footage of the incident and the independent recollections of the officers. The District Attorney’s Office has fast-tracked the matter seeking indictments as quickly as possible. We believe this was an unfortunate rush to judgment and may, ultimately, have a chilling and negative impact on police officers in our city and county who are required to make split-second decisions in high-stress situations to keep us safe. We look forward to trial and believe an impartial jury will exonerate the officers.
Signed,Ken Ervin, attorney for Donald Petraitis and Doug O’Connell, attorney for Robert Pfaff
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.