An Austin police officer who was suspended for 90 days after using his Taser on a homeless man in August 2015 will not face criminal charges, a Travis County grand jury concluded Friday.
According to a disciplinary memo, Officer Christopher Van Buren told supervisors he used his Taser on a man on Aug. 27, 2015 because he thought the man could have been armed. APD suspended Van Buren on Jan. 13.
Van Buren was one of the officers who responded to the 2700 block of Gonzales Street for a report of a man urinating and exposing himself to restaurant customers. The man, Armando Martinez, was found lying on his back under a tree near the restaurant. The district attorney’s office said Martinez did not comply with officers’ demands to stand up and show them his hands, which led to the use of the Taser.
Martinez was taken to University Medical Center-Brackenridge where he was treated for an unrelated condition and then released. He was cited for two misdemeanors, public intoxication and disorderly conduct.
The grand jury heard approximately six hours of testimony from four witnesses before making their decision.