AUSTIN, Texas — Opening arguments began on Wednesday in the second trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor.
This trial centers around the 2019 death of Mauris DeSilva. Taylor was indicted on a murder charge, but last week, prosecutors decided to only pursue a lesser change of deadly conduct.
What happened in 2019?
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.
State’s opening arguments
The state centered its argument around the idea that Taylor was on a “track” to confront DeSilva. In the opening arguments, they pointed out that Taylor and the other responding officers didn’t make an effort to get more information from any of the 911 callers once on the scene or try to de-escalate the situation.
“You’re going to see that he was not taking in information, that he was not treating this as a person who was undergoing a profound mental health event and needed help,” Rob Drummond, a state prosecutor, said. “You’re going to see that Christopher Taylor was essentially on a track, and that track was to confront Mr. DeSilva.”
They claim Taylor’s use of force was not justified in this incident.
Defense’s opening arguments
Taylor’s defense said while they realize and don’t dispute DeSilva was going through a profound mental health crisis, they believe Taylor and other officers acted in a way any reasonable person would when directly faced with someone with a weapon.
His attorneys reminded the jury that, contrary to what the state argued, it’s not the jury’s duty to figure out what was going on inside of DeSilva’s head, but only if Taylor acted reasonably.
They say that because time was of the essence and the officers were just mere feet away from DeSilva, who was holding the knife and wouldn’t drop it after several commands to do so, the officers did what was necessary.
“Police are tasked with trying to help this individual, if possible, but there’s a limit,” Ken Ervin, one of Taylor’s defense attorneys, said. “There’s a point at which a person becomes too dangerous and too threatening, and that threat has to be taken care of first.”
State witnesses: 911 callers
The state called the two men who made 911 calls during DeSilva’s mental health episode on July 31. The first was Grayson Ramage, DeSilva’s neighbor in the Spring Condos for about five years.
Ramage testified he did not know DeSilva personally but was aware of several mental health episodes he had in the past at their building. He alluded to the fact that because of those, the apartment complex put up a camera that was aimed directly at DeSilva’s door.
On July 31, 2019, Ramage made a call from inside his apartment because he heard loud banging sounds coming from DeSilva’s unit.
During his 911 call, which the state played for the jury, Ramage requests several times for APD to send a mental health officer. Ramage testified that in the past, when talking to apartment managers, they called a mental health hotline to get advice on DeSilva and requesting a mental health officer is what they were advised to do.
The second 911 caller came from Oliver Kaven, who was out with his wife walking around Third Street when he saw DeSilva walking around and in the street near the Spring Condos, holding a knife to his throat. Kaven testified that he thought DeSilva had some mental problems or something going on where he was “losing it.”
The state played body camera video from Taylor and the other officers, which showed Kaven outside the building when officers arrived. In the video, Taylor walks straight past Kaven to the front door without stopping to talk or ask him any questions.
Taylor’s defense responded by asking Kaven if there was any other information he could have provided to the officers, and he said nothing except for expanding more on how DeSilva looked like he was having a mental health crisis. On his call with the 911 dispatcher, the dispatcher asked Kaven if DeSilva looked impaired or on drugs, and he said he didn't notice anything physically but wasn’t able to clarify that DeSilva may have been struggling mentally.
State witnesses: APD officials
Next to the stand was Michael Attridge, a sergeant with APD, who was the corporal serving the downtown area command when this incident occurred. Attridge testified that several months before this incident, officers had responded twice to emotionally disturbed person calls for DeSilva at this residence.
The state’s final witness of the day was William Welch, the crime scene supervisor for the city of Austin’s forensic science department, which was formally part of APD. Welch testified about taking pictures at the crime scene in 2019 and documenting the measurements of the hallway where DeSilva was shot.
According to Welch’s measurements of the hallway, it was only about 4.5 feet from where the elevator doors opened to the wall where DeSilva was standing, holding a knife up to his neck that police said he wouldn’t drop.
State witnesses: Other bystanders
A main part of the state’s argument is that the APD officers did not diffuse the situation and that it could have been handled a different way. A crucial part to their argument is an interaction a man had with DeSilva just a little bit before officers arrived.
Caleb Harris, a franchise owner of the College HUNKS moving company in Austin, was working in the lobby of the Spring Condos when he saw DeSilva walking around with a knife to his throat. Harris' other employees were in the freight elevator when DeSilva walked right up to them. He testified that DeSilva got “uncomfortably close” to them.
Harris couldn’t remember the exact words he used, but he said something to the effect of, “We’re not doing this today, man” to DeSilva. He remembered seeing DeSilva's face and noticing that something was different. He said it looked like no lights were on inside.
After he said that to him, Harris testified that DeSilva walked away and got on another elevator.
The state’s line of questioning toward Harris focused on asking him whether he used any force, yelling or weapons to diffuse the situation, trying to point out to the jury that this attempt to stop DeSilva worked without any deadly force. But as Harris testified, he had no idea why the few words he said to DeSilva made him go away.
Martin Guardado, a part-time maintenance worker, also took the stand. He testified that the front desk told him to block the elevators so they would stay open and to go up with the officers to where DeSilva was. The state asked if he could have told the officers what they needed to do to use the elevator at that time, and he said he could have, but he was nervous because of the whole situation, so he just did what the front desk employee asked.
Guardado rode the elevator up with the officers and testified that as soon as he pressed the button up to the fifth floor where DeSilva was, all of the officers already had their guns out. He testified that what happened next was extremely quick, but he heard all the officers yelling to drop the weapon and then shots were fired.
What about Taylor's other trial?
This trial is separate from the previous charge Taylor faced, also in Travis County. Last year, Taylor stood trial for the 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos. Taylor faced a murder charge, but the case eventually ended in a mistrial.
Back in June, a grand jury declined to indict Taylor on new charges in the case, so the DA's office dropped the case.