AUSTIN, Texas — Travis County District Attorney José Garza announced Thursday that an Austin Police Department (APD) officer and a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper have been cleared by a grand jury in connection with a shooting that occurred in August 2022 at the intersection of Cameron Road and US 290.
On Thursday, Garza said that a Travis County special grand jury finished its review of the incident earlier this week and concluded that APD officer Michael Bradburn and DPS trooper Austin Ostrander did not break the law when they shot then 37-year-old Brandon Munoz after he allegedly ran from officers during a traffic stop and attempted an armed carjacking during the chase.
“The District Attorney’s office takes the work of presenting all facts and evidence to a grand jury very seriously,” Garza said. “In this case, an independent group of members of the Travis County community heard the evidence and law and decided that Officer Bradburn’s and Trooper Ostrander’s conduct was not unlawful.”
The incident occurred at around 11:15 p.m. on Aug. 8, 2022. APD said Bradburn pulled over a motorcyclist on Cameron Road and US 290 for operating a vehicle without a license plate. Police said as the motorcycle stopped, Munoz began running away from the scene.
APD said as Bradburn chased Munoz, he noticed that Munoz was carrying a gun in his hand. The officer repeatedly told Munoz to drop the gun, according to APD.
APD said a DPS trooper, Ostrander, was in the area, monitoring APD radio, and responded to assist in the foot chase.
Munoz then allegedly ran toward a shopping center at the intersection and got into an unrelated vehicle that was parked and attempted to carjack the vehicle, telling its occupant to start driving.
At that point, both Bradburn and Ostrander fired at Munoz, hitting him while he was inside the vehicle.
Officers performed life-saving measures on Munoz until medics arrived and took him to a local hospital with critical injuries. He was later charged with aggravated kidnapping.