AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza said on Monday that his office is dismissing the charges against an Austin Police officer in connection with a March 2019 use-of-force incident.
Garza said the indictment against APD Officer Gregory Gentry was being dismissed "after an internal review revealed exculpatory evidence" that wasn't discussed with prosecutors or the defense team.
"Upon review, we have decided that a dismissal of the indictment is the appropriate action to take in this case and best serves the interest of justice," said Garza. "I offer my sincere apologies to Officer Gentry who undoubtedly suffered as a result of this process."
Gentry was facing felony assault charges in relation to the 2019 incident, in which he and fellow APD officer Chance Bretches were attempting to stop an alleged narcotics deal.
The case was originally closed by the department after a review found officers' actions were compliant with department policy; however, after Garza took office earlier this year, the case was presented to a grand jury, who handed down indictments for both Gentry and Bretches. A third officer involved was no-billed in the incident.
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According to a release from Garza's office, the assistant district attorney handling Gentry's case secured an expert opinion that contained exculpatory information, and no one else in the office knew of the evidence's existence. When a new assistant district attorney was assigned to the case in May, the evidence came to light upon a review of the case file.
A letter submitted with the dismissal request indicates that expert opinion concluded that Gentry's use of force was lawful.
The case against Bretches is still ongoing.
The assistant district attorney who presented the case to the grand jury is no longer employed with Garza's office, according to the release.
In a statement announcing the original indictment against Gentry, Garza praised the work of his office. "Two experienced senior Assistant District Attorneys reviewing the narcotics case were sufficiently concerned by the conduct they observed and independently alerted the case to the unit," said Garza in a statement on January 22. "The investigation was opened and approved for presentation to a grand jury last year."
Ken Ervin and Doug O’Connell, the attorneys representing Gentry, called Garza's prosecution of their law enforcement clients selective. "The only thing shocking to us about today’s announcement from DA Garza is that he is voluntarily dismissing Officer Gentry’s case," a statement reads. "We have said all along that the indictments against our law enforcement clients – Officer Gentry, Officer Bretches, Officer Taylor, former Deputies Camden and Johnson, and former Trooper Johnston – were the result of selecting and presenting evidence to the grand jury in ways calculated to produce indictments. Today’s events confirm the one-sided and secretive nature of the grand jury process and its potential for abuse. We do not know what evidence was presented to, or withheld from, the grand jury in Officer Gentry’s case because it was not recorded. Once again we are calling on Mr. Garza to live up to his campaign promise of transparency and to record and transcribe all grand jury testimony in law enforcement cases so that this sort of abuse can be identified. Though we appreciate the dismissal of Officer Gentry’s case and the acknowledgement of impropriety in obtaining his indictment, Mr. Garza still has several more illegitimate indictments to dismiss and apologies to give."