Austin’s Democratic district attorney has hired security through his taxpayer-funded office after being rebuffed when he asked for police protection, despite being the one who freed the criminals and vowed to go after the cops.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has a long history of being “pro-crime,” according to victims’ families, and he vows to zealously prosecute officers who use excessive force, who they claim mishandled their cases. by releasing violent criminals without charges or slaps. parole on the wrist.
Despite letting many of them go and becoming an enemy of the local police, DailyMail.com is able to reveal their requests for private protection.
Last fall, Garza, a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, went to Travis County commissioners claiming he needed armed protection.
He was rejected and then appealed to the local sheriff, who also rejected his request.
After his requests to Travis County commissioners and the local sheriff for a bodyguard were denied, District Attorney José Garza (right) can be seen leaving a police funeral with armed security in November.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza was first elected to the position in 2020, following a summer of unrest in Austin with widespread protests over the murder of George Floyd despite never presenting a case to a jury. in a criminal trial.
It has since gotten the money from its own taxpayer-funded budget.
“It is the height of hypocrisy. The irony of all this is that these are the people who want to defund the police.
‘People like us, apparently, don’t need police, but they need one-on-one bodyguards. “It’s just unbelievable,” a source with knowledge of the requests told DailyMail.com.
“What he said is that he was receiving death threats,” said one source, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“He had a security company come to his house to assess how safe his house was and if it wasn’t that safe, so he really needed bodyguards 24/7 because of these death threats.”
The request for police protection was rejected. Garza later appeared at private events, including a police officer’s funeral, with a security guard he paid for.
In recent weeks, there have also been closed-door discussions about whether or not all public officials in the county should be protected.
Travis County District Attorney José Garza is on record as opposed to the death penalty and has vowed never to use it while in office.
Travis County Judge Andy Brown, center, speaks at a news conference at the Travis County Administration Building in March.
Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez speaks during a news conference and declined a request from the district attorney to provide her with police protection.
The one in charge of the agenda for those meetings is County Judge Andy Brown, for whom Garza’s wife works as chief of staff.
“What happened a couple of weeks ago, mysteriously in an executive session, they discussed that maybe every elected official in Travis County should have a personal bodyguard,” the source explained.
“The fact that the request was for all elected officials, that would sort of obscure Garza.”
DailyMail.com contacted Garza’s office, the sheriff and the county for comment, however all three declined.
Since being elected, Garza has charged at least 21 Austin police officers for using excessive force against local protesters in 2020. He later dropped charges against 17 of those same officers.
Additionally, his soft policies toward those accused of crimes have earned him a reputation among those arrested, including one caught on camera telling police that Garza was not accusing anyone.
“Nobody’s doing time… they really pat people’s wrists,” one suspect told police in a 2022 clip.
Instead, Garza turned to one of his office’s investigators, who are licensed to carry weapons and are sometimes retired police officers, as his protector.
The district attorney was photographed with armed backup in November when he attempted to attend the funeral of slain Austin police officer Jorge Pastore and was ejected.
‘@JosePGarza you are a big loser, why do you think you would be welcome anywhere near this?’ Garza attempted to go to the funeral and was politely told that he was not welcome anywhere in the building,” Austin’s public safety advocate tweeted. Cleo Petricek.
The photo of Garza leaving the funeral with his security following him was taken after he was kicked out.
‘The most anti-police district attorney in Austin history was asked to leave a police funeral’ published Matt Mackowiakwho runs a pro-police group in the Texas capital.
“Actions have consequences.”
It’s possible that the threats against Garza were not considered credible or that the denial was due to a lack of staff, Dennis Farris, a retired Austin police officer who worked on executive details for elected officials and dignitaries, told DailyMail.com.
Austin District Attorney José Garza Running for Reelection in November
“He probably wanted to hire someone (for security) and didn’t have the budget for it, and he went to the commissioners to ask for the money,” Farris said.
If you were told ‘no’, you will now turn to someone in your office, and rightly so. She should be out of your budget. It is not the responsibility of the county commissioner or sheriff’s department to provide details to the district attorney.
Additionally, the sheriff’s office, like the Austin Police Department, is facing historic staffing levels in the anti-police climate in the capital since 2020, Farris said.
But it turns out that Garza’s own extreme ideas about criminals may have sabotaged his request for police protection from county officials.
‘First of all, these are very, very liberal people… all of them. “They really think a lot about these criminals, they didn’t have a good childhood or they are mentally ill,” explained the anonymous complainant.
“If you really believe these people are not dangerous, why would you talk about armed protection?”
Garza charged at least 21 Austin police officers with excessive force against local protesters in 2020. He later dropped charges against 17 of those same officers.