No charges for 2 Austin police officers in fatal shooting of driver reaching for baby in 2021
The off-duty officer who fired shots at 27-year-old Alex Gonzales Jr. in traffic in early 2021 and the on-duty officer who fatally shot him minutes later as he reached into the backseat toward his baby have both received a verdict by a grand jury: Neither will face criminal charges.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza on Tuesday announced a grand jury did not return an indictment, also referred to as a no bill, against Austin Police Department officers Gabriel Gutierrez and Luis Serrato.
“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 Gutierrez and officer Serrato’s conduct was not unlawful.”
Gutierrez, who was off-duty, was driving in Southeast Austin just after midnight on Jan. 5, 2021, when Gonzales cut him off in traffic before pulling up alongside of him, according to what Gutierrez told investigators at the time. Gutierrez said Gonzales — who was driving with his girlfriend in the seat next to him while their infant was placed behind them — pointed a gun at him.
Gutierrez then drew his own gun before shooting at and injuring both Gonzales and his girlfriend, authorities have said. The first part of the encounter was not captured on body-worn police cameras or vehicle dashboard cameras because Gutierrez was not in uniform or in a police car.
After firing the first round of shots, Gutierrez then followed Gonzales down Wickersham Lane, where Gonzales proceeded to pulled his vehicle over. On-duty officers then arrived at the scene, so the remainder of the incident was captured on video.
"Backup officers arrive, and they're yelling at (Gonzales) — who is now outside of the driver's side of the car — to show his hands, to place his hands in the air, to get away from the vehicle," former Austin Police Chief Brian Manley told reporters at a news conference following the shooting. "What can also be seen on that body-worn camera is there is a female laying on the curb, on the passenger side of the vehicle."
More:Family of Alex Gonzales Jr. sues city of Austin after deadly 2021 police shooting
The video also shows the on-duty officers telling Gonzales in both English and Spanish to get away from the vehicle and raise his hands. Gonzales was then fatally shot by Serrato as he reached into the backseat of the car where his baby was placed.
Gutierrez told the dispatcher that Gonzales' girlfriend was saying, “My baby, my baby, my baby,” while on the ground. She survived her shooting injuries. The baby was not injured.
Gonzales' family filed a lawsuit earlier this year, calling the shooting unreasonable and unnecessary. The lawsuit adds that Gonzales was probably in a state of shock, unable to comprehend "why officers were yelling at him when he was the victim of a shooting."
The defense team for Serrato released a statement on Tuesday, thanking the grand jury for "acknowledging that officer Serrato's use of force was legally justified in the shooting incident."
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: No charges for 2 Austin officers in shooting of man reaching for baby
