Strong opinions on both sides,
Jackson family feels vindicated; Kleinert side disappointed.
A grand jury decided Monday to indict former Austin police Detective Charles “Trey” Kleinert in the fatal shooting of Larry Eugene Jackson Jr., but many Austin residents have long made up their mind about the case.
For critics of the Austin Police Department and of Kleinert, who was charged with manslaughter and faces up to 20 years in prison, the decision was vindication.
Larry Mercer, Jackson’s stepfather, said the indictment is evidence that God exists.
“He does answer prayer,” Mercer said.
For Kleinert’s supporters, it was a disappointment, and a challenge.
“Just like any other American, Detective Kleinert will now get to have his day in court, and we are confident he will clear his name,” said Charley Wilkison, executive director of the Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas. “Convicted criminals who resist arrest and flee to avoid apprehension place the public, themselves and the police in high-risk, no-win situations.”
Hours after the indictment, about 40 activists and members of Jackson’s family gathered Monday night outside the Blackwell-Thurman Criminal Justice Center.
“To my brother: We did it,” said La Kiza Fowler.
She said the family considered the decision a victory, but they wished that Kleinert had been charged with murder.
Officials have said that Jackson, who was convicted of forgery in 2003, was trying to commit a fraud when he arrived at the Benchmark Bank where Kleinert was investigating a robbery that happened that morning on July 26.
Jackson then fled when Kleinert tried to question him, according to police, and he was fatally shot after Kleinert caught up with him and they struggled under a bridge.
“What Larry did, whatever he did, didn’t justify getting tracked down in broad daylight by an enraged detective,” said attorney Adam Loewy, who is representing Jackson’s parents in a civil lawsuit against Kleinert and the city.
A public Facebook page dedicated to rallying around Kleinert remained silent Monday, but among the more than 550 people who “liked” it, many regularly posted their own prayers for the detective, or recalled their own experiences with him.
“He was always calm, cool and collected,” his former partner on the police force wrote last year. “He liked people. He loved his job. And he was always in a good mood. His work ethic was beyond reproach. His way with people was something I watched and learned from. He was in essence, the perfect patrol partner.”
No officer ever wants to shoot someone, he said. But some members of the African-American community in Austin have for years felt that officers have wrongly used force against minorities, and that those cases were not properly reviewed.
Sterling Lands, the pastor at Greater Calvary Bible Church, called Kleinert’s indictment a “benchmark event.”
“Generally speaking, these guys get no-billed,” said Lands, referring to when a grand jury declines to indict an officer.
Attorney Bobby Taylor, who is representing Jackson’s three children, said he was elated by the decision.
“This is beautiful to me,” he said. “He took out his gun and took the safety off and killed Mr. Jackson, and the best he can say is it was an accident.”