Another APD head-scratcher
Why would Chief Henderson even consider this?
Statesman reporter Tony Plohetski breaks the story:
Days before Gov. Greg Abbott pardoned Daniel Perry for killing a Black Lives Matter protester, the Austin Police Department drafted a two-page letter to state officials advocating that Perry be freed.
The document, on departmental letterhead, echoes the belief of the lead investigator in the case that the prosecution of Perry in the shooting death of Garrett Foster was based on “conjecture,” “innuendo” and a “character assassination” of Perry, who wrote racist and threatening social media posts.
The draft, obtained by the American-Statesman and KVUE-TV on Tuesday, bears the signatory of interim police chief Robin Henderson.
The letter rejects the guilty verdict of a Travis County jury a year earlier and reiterates the department’s finding that the shooting was justified, adding “Mr. Perry should have never been charged.”
The department was poised to send the document to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles a day before Gov. Greg Abbott granted clemency to Perry last week. But Henderson said in a statement Tuesday to the Statesman that "ultimately the drafted letter was not submitted. After discussions with city leadership, as is standard in certain situations, I decided not to submit the letter."
Wow, a lot to unpack here. Suffice it to say, this is a very bad look for APD and will not serve the officers well as they try to negotiate a contract with the city –– that needs to be approved by the elected City Council of AUSTIN, TEXAS!
It's incredible that Henderson even considered inserting herself into such a politically explosive situation.
