AUSTIN, Texas — An arrest warrant has been issued on a murder charge against an Austin police officer in the shooting death of Michael Ramos, according to the Travis County Sheriff's Office, marking the first time in decades that an officer has faced the most serious charge in an excessive force case.
Officer Christopher Taylor was not in custody Wednesday evening after a warrant was issued for his arrest at 5:07 p.m. Central time. A bond of $100,000 has been set for him. He has been on leave from the department since the shooting and has not faced a disciplinary hearing for possible policy violations in the incident. He faces a possible sentence of life in prison if convicted.
The April 24 shooting in a Southeast Austin apartment complex parking lot instantly sparked community backlash after much of the incident was caught on bystander cell phone video, posted on social media and released by authorities to the public.
Ramos' death also spurred Austin protesters, thousands of whom took to the streets last summer in the wake of George Floyd's death to march against police brutality.
Taylor shot Ramos, a 42-year-old Black and Hispanic man, after a group of officers responded to a 911 call reporting that a person possibly involved in a drug deal had a gun. Authorities said Ramos did not comply with police orders and that an officer shot him with "less lethal" bean bag ammunition.
After being hit with the bean bag, Ramos got in a car and started driving. Taylor fired at his moving car.
Authorities later confirmed that Ramos did not have a gun.
Austin's activist community and Ramos' family have pushed for justice over several months, including pressing for Taylor's arrest and charging him without waiting on a grand jury investigation. Detectives, following what has been the customary procedure for such cases, declined.
Ramos' mother, Brenda, who is suing the city, could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said Wednesday evening that he could not comment. Under state law, an indictment is not public information until a defendant is in custody.
In February, Taylor was named as a defendant in a lawsuit stemming from his use of force in the shooting death of a man suffering from mental illness in his downtown Austin condo.
Former District Attorney Margaret Moore had said she planned to take the case to a grand jury in August but decided to allow Garza to do so after he resoundingly defeated her in the Democratic primary elections.
Garza ran on a platform of police accountability, and since taking office in January, has overseen the indictments of two other Austin police officers in an excessive force case. He has said that other grand jury reviews are ongoing, including in the death of Javier Ambler II, who was chased by Williamson County deputies and shocked four times with Tasers as he gasped that he had a heart condition and could not breathe.
The same grand jury that indicted Taylor also is considering possible charges against former deputies J.J. Johnson and Zach Camden, as well as other charges related to the destruction of footage from the reality show "Live PD" that filmed Ambler's fatal arrest.
Garza has said that he expects a decision in Ambler's death by the end of the month.
The last time an Austin police officer faced charges in a shooting death was detective Charles "Trey" Kleinert, who was charged with manslaughter in the death of Larry Jackson in July 2013. The case was later dismissed.
