AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Outgoing Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore says she will delay presenting the Javier Ambler and Michael Ramos cases to a grand jury, in order to allow her successor to present the cases.
Moore, who was defeated July 14 in a Democratic primary runoff, originally planned to present the cases to a grand jury in August.
"When I created the Civil Rights Unit in this office, one of my main goals was to develop community confidence in the thoroughness and fairness of the process by which we handle officer-involved use-of-force cases," Moore said in a statement Wednesday afternoon. "The voters of Travis County have spoken. By overwhelmingly supporting a candidate for District Attorney who ran on a platform of changing how officer involved shooting cases are prosecuted, I believe the the community has clearly stated it would like to see the new administration oversee the prosecution of these cases from beginning to end."
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Jose Garza defeated the one-term incumbent Moore with 68% of the vote. He will face Republican Martin Harry in November.
"We are mindful of the possible pain and discomfort to the families of Mr. Ambler and Mr. Ramos by delaying the presentation to a grand jury," Moore continued. "We have reached out to the families through their representatives to inform them of this decision and explained our reasons for doing so. We have taken into careful consideration all factors, including the impact this decision would have on the families, and believe that it is the responsible thing to do out of deference to and respect for what can only be viewed as the community’s mandate in the recent election specifically, in relation to how officer-involved shooting cases are handled."
Moore says her office will continue to prepare the cases, ensuring the cases are ready to present "as soon as the newly elected District Attorney takes office."