(WBAP/KLIF) — Over a dozen Austin police officers face charges for using force to quell violent protestors. After riots and protests erupted after the death of George Floyd in 2020, Austin police used bean bag guns to subdue violent protestors.
Now, a Texas grand jury has indicted 19 Austin officers on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The move came hours after Austin city leaders approved paying $10-million to a pair of rioters injured during the violent protests. The largest of the Austin settlements gives $8 million to Justin Howell, who was 20 years old when police shot him with a beanbag round. Family members have said Howell suffered a cracked skull and brain damage and was left in critical condition for multiple days.
The indictments of the 19 officers rank among the most levied against a single police department in U.S. history.
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