AUSTIN -- Retired Austin Police Det. Charles Kleinert pleaded not guilty to manslaughter charges on Friday.
Kleinert is charged in the death of Larry Eugene Jackson under a Central Austin bridge in July 2013. Kleinert has said his gun accidentally fired during a struggle, hitting Jackson in the back of the neck.
"He was my heart, and I loved him so much," said Billie Mercer, Jackson's mom, days after the shooting.
As Kleinert's case moves forward, it comes at a time of national attention on police killings. Before Thanksgiving, a grand jury declined to indict Ferguson, Mo. officer Darren Wilson in the death of Michael Brown, inciting riots and protests.
On Wednesday, a New York grand jury issued no indictments in the case of a man dying after being in a NYPD officer's choke hold and yelling he couldn't breathe.
On Thursday at the University of Texas, hundreds protested the outcomes in Ferguson and New York.
With all the attention on these national cases, many people in Austin wonder if Kleinert will face any impact when he comes to the courthouse for his first hearing.
"I would not want to be right now, a police officer accused of killing or injuring someone," said defense attorney Brian Roark.
Roark said he thinks accused officers face a particular risk in how jurors could view the case.
"Your client, no matter what the facts are in his or her particular case, is treated differently because everybody wants to make up for what's happened to some other police officer across the country," said Roark.
Attorney Jason Nassour has represented police officers in shootings and said elected judges may view cases through a different lens now.
"I think that impacts whether they grant a motion or let it go, whether they are going to be more stringent on a particularly evidentiary matter or not," said Nassour.
Many people will be watching this case. Not only when Kleinert arrives for court on Friday, but also when the case goes to trial on April 20.
He faces between two and 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000 if he is found guilty.
