Charges have been dropped for another Austin Police Officer indicted for their actions during 2020 protests. Following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis
On Tuesday the Travis County District Attorney’s office announced it would be dismissing the deadly conduct for discharging a firearm charge against officer Rolan Rast. Charges have been dropped for another Austin Police Officer indicted for their actions during the 2020 protests. Following the deaths of George Floyd in Minneapolis and Mike Ramos by an APD officer, thousands of people gathered in the streets of Downtown Austin.
Rast is among more than a dozen officers indicted in 2022 for alleged misconduct during summer 2020 social justice protests. A grand jury handed down 21 indictments against officers after victims claimed they used excessive force and shot them with expired rounds of bean bags.Black Lives Matter protester Sam Kirsch sued Rast, accusing the officer of injuring him with one of the so-called 'less lethal’ rounds as officers worked to control the large crowd.
Moore believes a policy change made by former Police Chief Brian Manley played a role in why Garza decided to drop the charges.