AUSTIN, TX - On November 11th, Veteran's Day, Austin Police responded to a call of a barricaded gunman. Officer Jorge Pastore, a member of APD's SWAT team was shot and killed, marking the first time in a decade that Austin lost an officer in the line of duty. He was laid to rest on Friday, November 18th.
Jose Garza, who has spent close to three years as the Travis County (Austin is the county seat) District Attorney, made an appearance at the funeral. However, it quickly became apparent to Garza that he was not wanted there. He eventually left.
"When he came walking in, I thought, 'what gall this man has to show up at a funeral for an officer killed in the line of duty when all he's done since he's been in office is go after cops,'" funeral attendee Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, told Fox News Digital.
"From my perspective, he wasn't welcome and the fact that either he was asked to leave, or he chose to leave on his own. Whatever the case may be, I'm glad he left because he shouldn't have shown up in the first place."
What exactly did Farris mean by "go after cops?"
For those in the Austin area, Garza makes the news cycle often for his anti-police, soft-on-crime rhetoric. The George Soros-backed DA has enacted policies that have made the residents of Travis County less safe.
Soros spent nearly $2M in efforts to get Garza elected in 2020, donating $625,000 to the Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC in the months leading up to the election. That PAC was instrumental in campaigning for Garza. They also spent nearly $1M in digital and mail-out advertising specific to the District Attorney's race.
Garza campaigned on a promise of prosecuting cops for abuse of power and unauthorized uses of force. Most of that stemmed from how he perceived that the APD handled the downtown riots that flowed over from the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd.
Almost immediately after taking office, Garza set his sights on the APD. He led the efforts to see 19 APD officers indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In fact, over his first 14 months in office, he had landed 25 indictments on members of the APD. Many of the indictments were handed down for charges that had been investigated and dismissed by Garza's predecessor.
One of those indictments was Christopher Taylor, who shot and killed a non-compliant Michael Ramos after he overcame less-than-lethal attempts to subdue him. He dove into his car and Taylor believed that Ramos was attempting to use that vehicle to run over the officers on the scene.
A mistrial was called last week after eight members of the jury would not move from a 'not guilty' finding, while the other four would not budge from their belief of his guilt. It has not yet been decided if there will be another trial, or if the case will be dismissed. Taylor is also believed to be the first officer in APD history to be charged with murder in an on-duty shooting.
At the funeral for officer Pastore, Garza was asked to leave a room that was dedicated to emergency responders, because he was making people there "feel uncomfortable." He then managed to make his way to an area reserved for Austin's Mayor and the City Council. It was rumored that he was not supposed to be in that space either and was asked to leave.
Garza was told he could watch the service on a television in an overflow room. It was reported that he left the venue at that time.
"It was a slap in the face to every officer there seeing Garza at the funeral," an APD officer at the funeral said anonymously. "Everyone I spoke to expressed anger, confusion or both given his relationship, or lack thereof, with the law enforcement community. What’s worse, it seemed as though Garza was genuinely confused as to why he was being asked to leave areas he didn’t belong, as though he didn’t understand all the problems he’s caused by unjustly indicting so many of our brothers and sisters. He should have just stayed home."
It wasn't just attendees that took exception to Garza being in attendance.
Travis County GOP Party chair Matt Mackowiak said, "The most anti-Police DA in Austin history was asked to leave a police funeral. Actions have consequences."
Austin-area attorney Adam Loewy chimed in with an accusation that Garza was intentional in his disruption of this officer's service celebrating his life and service.
"DA @JosePGarza knew exactly what he was doing showing up at this funeral. He knew his presence would create controversy as a family mourned - but did it anyway. Troubling."
Jose Garza, who has spent close to three years as the Travis County (Austin is the county seat) District Attorney, made an appearance at the funeral. However, it quickly became apparent to Garza that he was not wanted there. He eventually left.
"When he came walking in, I thought, 'what gall this man has to show up at a funeral for an officer killed in the line of duty when all he's done since he's been in office is go after cops,'" funeral attendee Dennis Farris, president of the Austin Police Retired Officers Association, told Fox News Digital.
"From my perspective, he wasn't welcome and the fact that either he was asked to leave, or he chose to leave on his own. Whatever the case may be, I'm glad he left because he shouldn't have shown up in the first place."
What exactly did Farris mean by "go after cops?"
For those in the Austin area, Garza makes the news cycle often for his anti-police, soft-on-crime rhetoric. The George Soros-backed DA has enacted policies that have made the residents of Travis County less safe.
Soros spent nearly $2M in efforts to get Garza elected in 2020, donating $625,000 to the Texas Justice & Public Safety PAC in the months leading up to the election. That PAC was instrumental in campaigning for Garza. They also spent nearly $1M in digital and mail-out advertising specific to the District Attorney's race.
Garza campaigned on a promise of prosecuting cops for abuse of power and unauthorized uses of force. Most of that stemmed from how he perceived that the APD handled the downtown riots that flowed over from the nationwide protests following the death of George Floyd.
Almost immediately after taking office, Garza set his sights on the APD. He led the efforts to see 19 APD officers indicted on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. In fact, over his first 14 months in office, he had landed 25 indictments on members of the APD. Many of the indictments were handed down for charges that had been investigated and dismissed by Garza's predecessor.
One of those indictments was Christopher Taylor, who shot and killed a non-compliant Michael Ramos after he overcame less-than-lethal attempts to subdue him. He dove into his car and Taylor believed that Ramos was attempting to use that vehicle to run over the officers on the scene.
A mistrial was called last week after eight members of the jury would not move from a 'not guilty' finding, while the other four would not budge from their belief of his guilt. It has not yet been decided if there will be another trial, or if the case will be dismissed. Taylor is also believed to be the first officer in APD history to be charged with murder in an on-duty shooting.
At the funeral for officer Pastore, Garza was asked to leave a room that was dedicated to emergency responders, because he was making people there "feel uncomfortable." He then managed to make his way to an area reserved for Austin's Mayor and the City Council. It was rumored that he was not supposed to be in that space either and was asked to leave.
Garza was told he could watch the service on a television in an overflow room. It was reported that he left the venue at that time.
"It was a slap in the face to every officer there seeing Garza at the funeral," an APD officer at the funeral said anonymously. "Everyone I spoke to expressed anger, confusion or both given his relationship, or lack thereof, with the law enforcement community. What’s worse, it seemed as though Garza was genuinely confused as to why he was being asked to leave areas he didn’t belong, as though he didn’t understand all the problems he’s caused by unjustly indicting so many of our brothers and sisters. He should have just stayed home."
It wasn't just attendees that took exception to Garza being in attendance.
Travis County GOP Party chair Matt Mackowiak said, "The most anti-Police DA in Austin history was asked to leave a police funeral. Actions have consequences."
Austin-area attorney Adam Loewy chimed in with an accusation that Garza was intentional in his disruption of this officer's service celebrating his life and service.
"DA @JosePGarza knew exactly what he was doing showing up at this funeral. He knew his presence would create controversy as a family mourned - but did it anyway. Troubling."
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Comments
2023-11-22T12:17-0500 | Comment by: Jim
No way he should have even been allowed at the funeral of this slain Officer! That Officer died a Hero and it is tragic he was killed and he should not have been allowed in the building where his Brothers and sisters were paying their respects.
2023-11-22T19:20-0500 | Comment by: Robert
GOD BLESS Officer PASTORE, REST IN PEACE SIR. That being said, Garza, is a Rabid Animal that should be disbarred FORTHWITH. B.L.M. = "BLUE LIVES MATTER". Period