AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – An Army soldier who shot and killed an armed protester last summer after driving into a crowd demonstrating against police violence in the Texas capital was charged with murder, authorities said Thursday. Sgt.
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – An Army soldier who shot and killed an armed protester last summer after driving into a crowd demonstrating against police violence in the Texas capital was charged with murder, authorities said Thursday.
Sgt. Daniel Perry, who was stationed at Fort Hood, has been booked and released on bail of $ 300,000, said Kristen Dark, a spokeswoman for the Travis County Sheriff’s Office. She said Perry was charged with murder and once fatal behavior in the death of Garrett Foster, 28, on July 25.
Perry’s attorney Clint Broden said the soldier worked for a carpooling service and acted in self-defense after Foster aimed a gun at him. Broden issued a statement Thursday expressing disappointment with the indictment and confidence that Perry would be acquitted.
“It is important to note that the standard of evidence required to bring an indictment is significantly lower than the standard of evidence required to be convicted,” the statement said.
The Travis County Attorney’s Office – which previously announced it would take the case to a grand jury to consider charges – did not act immediately and was planning a press conference later Thursday.
Foster was killed during a night of protests and riots in several US cities. Immediately thereafter, then Police Chief Brian Manley said the officers had heard “two separate volleys of gunfire” and made their way to the crowd, where they found Foster with multiple gunshot wounds.
Perry’s attorneys previously told The Associated Press that her client had just dropped a passenger when he turned into a street full of protesters who started beating his vehicle. They said Foster approached the car and gestured for Perry with his gun to lower the window. Perry initially thought Foster was a law enforcement officer and had his window down, they said. But when Foster raised his gun at Perry, the soldier realized Foster wasn’t a cop and shot him in self-defense with a handgun in his car, the lawyers said.
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Acacia Coronado is a corps member of the Associated Press / Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a not-for-profit national utility that places journalists on local newsrooms to cover undercover issues.
Acacia Coronado, The Associated Press
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