Christopher Taylor is currently out on bond after defense attorneys immediately appealed his sentence.
AUSTIN, Texas — Convicted police officer Christopher Taylor is no longer employed.
The move by the Austin Police Department comes one day after Taylor was sentenced to two years in prison for the deadly shooting of Mauris DeSilva in 2019.
Officials confirmed Taylor was terminated Wednesday by the department, but wouldn’t share additional details about his salary, pay status or duty status in the years following the incident.
Taylor’s defense attorney immediately appealed Tuesday’s ruling. Judge Dayna Blazey will allow Taylor to remain out on bond while he waits for his appeal to be heard. So far, there’s no estimate on how long the appeal process could take.
Taylor is believed to be the first officer convicted in Travis County for a deadly shooting on duty and the first to face a prison sentence. District Attorney José Garza, who ran on a platform of police accountability following the 2020 social justice movement, has taken multiple officers to trial, but none were convicted.
Now that Taylor has been sentenced and terminated by Austin police, many experts worry about what this could mean for the future of the department. The concerns come as the department already faces ongoing staffing shortages.
“When an officer is convicted of a crime for doing their job, when there’s really no criminal intent, it can send a resounding message to all police personnel that, ‘Hey, this is real,’” said Scott DeFoe, a police practices use of force expert and former sergeant with the Los Angeles Police Department.
DeFoe said he’s testified as an expert in hundreds of police shooting cases nationwide. Almost every single time, regardless if there’s a conviction or not, people are more hesitant to join law enforcement.
“It is a rarity for criminal charges to be filed,” DeFoe said. “It’s rare even in Democratic states like California where I live, it’s incredibly rare.”
DeFor also said it impacts how current officers perform their duties moving forward, saying officers become more reluctant to get involved in situations that could ultimately end up in incarceration.
According to DeFoe, ever since the COVID-19 pandemic and the 2020 killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, officer retention has taken a hit. As a result of not having as many officers, DeFoe said police training nationwide is not what it used to be.
“I work with departments or have cases where departments shoot their weapons one time a year, but they’re expected to go out and perform you know, under unique circumstances,” DeFoe said. “They’re going to fall back to their training.”
After Tuesday’s sentence, Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis said the department is constantly reevaluating its policies.
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