Paxton eyes probe of custody deaths
AUSTIN — Attorney General Ken Paxton said Thursday that he’ll ask the Legislature to give him the power to investigate and prosecute police misconduct that results in a death.
Local prosecutors have “apparent and actual conflicts of interest” when investigating officers with whom they work as part of the criminal justice system, Paxton said in an opinion piece submitted to the Austin American-statesman.
“The reality is that when it comes to officer-involved deaths, local agencies need more accountability,” Paxton wrote.
“We need our law enforcement agencies and those responsible for their oversight to be fully transparent when enforcement goes too far,” Paxton said. “We have an obligation to all Texans to ensure that justice is done.”
The ability to investigate officer-involved deaths and, if necessary, prosecute wrongdoing would be a “limited but vital” function for an office that operates statewide, he added.
Shawn Dick, district attorney for Williamson County, isn’t opposed to a statewide solution on police misconduct cases, though without specific legislation to view, he said it was impossible to assess Paxton’s proposal.
“In concept, I agree that one of hardest parts of prosecuting local officers is we do work with them every day,” he said.
However, Dick said, his office already has the ability to bring in a special prosecutor if a conflict of interest arises.
Margaret Moore, Travis County’s district attorney, said she will press to retain local control over police misconduct cases, which are handled by her Civil Rights Unit, an independent office that handles only those cases.
“My mandate is to see that justice is done, and I am committed to that no matter who is being investigated,” she said.
In his opinion piece, Paxton said the Memorial Day death of George Floyd in Minneapolis served as a reminder that “some peace officers fail to act in the public interest.”
Texas has not been immune to allegations of police misconduct, he added, pointing to the 2019 death of Javier Ambler after an altercation with Williamson County sheriff’s deputies, who used Tasers on him four times after he warned them that he was having trouble breathing.
“The investigation in Mr. Ambler’s case remains ongoing,” Paxton wrote, adding: “When a public servant entrusted by the community with the power to use deadly force abuses that trust, society is right to demand justice.”
Under current law, Paxton’s office must be invited to help county-level district attorneys prosecute a case, something that most often happens with complex crimes like capital murder or fraud, particularly in smaller counties.
The expanded power to handle police misconduct cases would require approval by the Legislature, which begins its next regular session in January.
Lawmakers, however, have not embraced the concept in recent years.
In the 2015 session, a bill to disqualify local district attorneys in favor of the attorney general on police misconduct cases died without getting a committee vote, the first of many hurdles for a bill.
In addition, bills to disqualify local prosecutors in favor of another district attorney, who would be selected by the attorney general, failed to get committee votes in the 2015, 2017 and 2019 sessions.