The Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza has dropped charges against Austin Police Department Officer Gregory Gentry that resulted from a March 2019 incident.
Garza announced that the pending indictment against Gentry had been dismissed "in the best interest of justice," with help after receiving evidence from an expert opinion, KXAN reported.
“Upon review, we have decided that a dismissal of the indictment is the appropriate action to take in this case and best serves the interest of justice,” Garza, said as reported by KXAN. “I offer my sincere apologies to Officer Gentry, who undoubtedly suffered as a result of this process.”
When the case was originally reviewed, the APD said officers’ actions were “deemed compliant with policy and training,” KXAN reported.
A release from Garza claimed that during the previous administration with an assistant district attorney, who is no longer with the office, obtained an expert opinion that would have been helpful to the defense. That ADA never presented that evidence. A new ADA that took over in May, found the evidence that had not been represented, reviewed it and concluded to drop all charges. Gentry was found to have acted in a justified manner, according to KXAN.
Gentry was originally facing felony assault charges after an incident where he and another officer attempted to stop what they believed to be a narcotics deal. While trying to arrest the individuals, Gentry and the other officer were able to arrest one suspect, but the other one fought arrest and suffered some unknown injuries, as reported by KXAN.