AUSTIN, Texas — Texas lawmakers are moving forward with legislation that would prevent law enforcement officers from being charged with deadly conduct for actions taken while on duty, The Texas Tribune reported.
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House Bill 2436 would exempt officers from the deadly conduct statute, which was originally designed to combat gang-related violence, such as drive-by shootings, according to the report. A similar Senate bill passed earlier in April.
The deadly conduct charge, listed in Texas Penal Code, reads: “A person commits an offense if he recklessly engages in conduct that places another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury or knowingly discharging a firearm at or in the direction of another person, a habitation, building, or vehicle.”
The legislative push follows cases like that of former Austin police officer Christopher Taylor, who in 2019 shot and killed a man during a mental health crisis, according to the report. Taylor was sentenced last year to two years in prison for deadly conduct, a charge critics say was not intended for officers acting in the line of duty.
Earlier versions of the bills had included retroactive provisions that could have impacted ongoing cases, but those clauses were later removed.
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