The indictment is tied to an incident on Interstate 35 northbound, where a suspect was shot in the arm after a car chase.
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper has been indicted by a special grand jury in connection with a 2023 shooting in northeast Austin, the Travis County District Attorney’s Office announced Thursday.
The grand jury indicted DPS Trooper Jason Tye on a charge of aggravated assault by a public servant with a deadly weapon in the July 10, 2023, shooting of Elijah Barrientos.
Police said Barrientos failed to stop during a traffic stop on northbound Interstate 35, leading to a chase that ended when he crashed in a parking lot on North Plaza. Authorities said at the time that Barrientos had multiple outstanding warrants and was a confirmed gang member.
The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) condemned the indictment and sent KVUE the following statement from Executive Director Robert Leonard:
“How this documented gang member, felon in possession of a firearm, drug dealer was able to roam the streets of Austin is the question we should all be asking. Garza is a continued danger to the residents of Travis County as well as the law enforcement officers sworn to protect and uphold the law. We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again… the revolving door of justice is placing our law enforcement officers in great danger, and this is being perpetuated at an unprecedented level by Garza and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office.”
The DA’s civil rights unit will prosecute the case, which prosecutors say is pending in the 167th District Court in Travis County.
“The District Attorney’s Office takes the work of presenting all facts and evidence to a grand jury very seriously,” District Attorney José Garza said in a statement. “In this case, an independent group of members of the Travis County community heard the evidence and law and decided that Trooper Tye’s conduct was unlawful.”