(Credit: Austin Police Department)
Two Austin police officers on trial for using excessive force on a man in February have been found not guilty of all charges.
Officers Robert Pfaff and Donald Petraitis were accused of wrongfully tazing a man in downtown after they responded to a call of a shooting. Quentin Perkins was on his knees with his hands up at the time he was tazed, which led to their indictments.
Along with misdemeanor assault, Pfaff and Petraitis were charged with official oppression, tampering with evidence, and tampering with government records. Pfaff was charged separately with aggravated perjury due to allegations he lied about what happened in an affidavit.
After six hours of deliberation, the jury found both officers not guilty. The defense argued that the prosecution withheld key details about the incident, adding that the officers were within their right to use their tazers because Perkins had refused repeated commands to get on the ground, and because Perkins appeared as though he might try to run.
Following the verdict, the Austin Police Association criticized Chief of Police Brian Manley and Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore for basing the indictments almost solely on body camera footage.
Attorneys for the officers released a statement:
“We are pleased with the not guilty verdicts rendered by the jury today. We’ve been expecting this result since the officers were indicted nine months ago after a rushed and flawed investigation. We will now work toward having these men reinstated in their positions on the SWAT team with the Austin Police Department. We sincerely hope that this entire unfortunate event has taught important lessons to police and prosecuting agencies regarding the error of assuming body-worn camera footage tells a complete story.”
