Law enforcement groups in Texas are pressuring Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza to resign over a case involving Austin Police Officer Chance Bretches and the 2020 George Floyd riots.
Leftwing billionaire George Soros, who backed Garza, has funneled money into local races for prosecutors in an effort to elect leftists who favor “criminal justice reform” and the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, Breitbart News reported in 2022.
Fox News reported Saturday that Officer Bretches’ legal team filed a motion to dismiss the case against him after prosecutors in Garza’s office were accused of violating his constitutional rights and compromising the integrity of the case.
The officer was initially charged with aggravated assault by a public servant when he was working crowd control during the downtown Austin riot.
“His attorneys argue he relied on department-issued ‘less-lethal’ beanbag rounds that were later called into question, contending the equipment itself was defective and contributed to the injuries at issue,” the Fox article said, adding that Garza’s prosecutors allegedly failed to disclose secret communications with officials about possibly holding the city or law enforcement authorities criminally responsible.
Now, the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) and the Austin Police Retired Officers Association (APROA) want Garza, who has anti-police leanings, to resign.
In a press release on Tuesday, CLEAT Executive Director Robert Leonard said Garza “knowingly, intentionally, and willfully deprived Officer Bretches of his Constitutional right to a fair trial by failing to disclose crucial information to his attorneys.”
“There is no excuse. A full investigation is necessary to determine whether the Travis County District Attorney’s Office violated the Michael Morton Act. If DA Garza has any shred of integrity left, he will resign immediately,” he added.
When asked by a CBS Austin reporter why the average person should care about the case, Bretches’ attorney Doug O’Connell said, “Because if it can happen to a police officer, the guys and gals that run towards danger, if it can happen to them, then it can happen to any citizen.”
In February, Garza charged a Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) trooper but allowed the career criminal he was chasing to go free, Breitbart News reported.
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