An Austin jury convicted Taylor of deadly conduct in the death of Mauris DeSilva, a man suffering mental illness and armed with a knife.
AUSTIN, Texas — An appeals court has overturned the conviction of former Austin police officer Christopher Taylor and, in a rare move, declared him acquitted.
An Austin jury had convicted Taylor of deadly conduct in the 2019 shooting death of Mauris DeSilva, a man suffering mental illness and armed with a knife.
Taylor was initially indicted for murder in connection DeSilva’s death, but the charge was downgraded to deadly conduct shortly before his trial began.
Taylor’s conviction marked the first time ever in Travis County that a police officer had been found criminally liable in an on-duty fatal shooting.
The shooting happened after officers responded to a 911 call at a downtown residential high-rise about a man with a knife. They confronted DeSilva with that knife feet away as they stepped off an elevator to approach him.
A judge sentenced Taylor to two years in prison, but he remained free on bond pending the outcome of the appeal.
In a decision on Tuesday, the Seventh Court of Appeals wrote that “the record still establishes justification” for the shooting.
“The body-worn camera footage shows officers confined inside an elevator as the doors open onto a hallway,” wrote Justice Alex Yarbrough for the court. “DeSilva is initially facing a mirror with a knife to his own throat. When the doors open, DeSilva turns toward the officers, reorients the knife away from himself and toward them, and advances in their direction. The officers have no meaningful avenue of retreat or ability to create distance. DeSilva, by contrast, has the hallway behind him. He does not retreat.”
In the ruling, Yarbrough said “the record does not support a finding of attempted compliance” by DeSilva.
“At the moment deadly force was used, DeSilva turned toward officers, directed the knife away from himself, ignored commands to drop it, and advanced in a confined space,” Yarbrough said. “A person attempting to comply does not move toward officers with a knife oriented in their direction. The law does not require officers to interpret such conduct as compliance or to wait until an attack is completed before responding.”
The court said the decision to reverse the judgement of the trial court was a matter of “legal sufficiency” and “not a reweighting of evidence.
“When undisputed objective evidence establishes justification, a verdict resting on speculation cannot stand,” Yarbrough wrote.
Taylor’s attorney, Doug O’Connell, issued a statement after the ruling on Tuesday evening, saying in part:
“We are deeply grateful for the 7th Court of Appeals’ decision to overturn the conviction of Detective Chris Taylor and enter a judgment of acquittal in his case. Detective Taylor should never have faced prosecution for defending himself and his fellow officers against a man who threatened them with a knife. The use of force in this incident was both legal and authorized under the circumstances.”
The Austin Police Department said it will review the decision with the City Attorney’s Office. The department terminated Taylor last year after he was sentenced.
Meanwhile, prosecutors dropped murder and deadly conduct charges against another officer involved in the shooting, Karl Krycia.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza entered a unique agreement with Krycia that will require him to teach about his experience at the police training academy in exchange for the charges being dismissed.
Under the agreement involving Krycia, he will teach a nationally recognized program to help officers in situations dealing with people suffering a mental health episode who have a weapon other than a knife – rather than face trial.