AUSTIN, Texas — Former Austin police officer Christopher Taylor, convicted in the 2019 fatal shooting of a mentally ill man, wants a new trial on several grounds.
Taylor’s defense team has submitted that request to the judge who oversaw his October trial, which ended with a jury finding Taylor guilty of deadly conduct.
Taylor’s attorneys cite five reasons they say he deserves a new trial, including new evidence favorable to Taylor and potential misconduct by jurors during deliberations.
The motion cites an affidavit from a woman who was friends for 20 years with Mauris DeSilva, whom Taylor shot during a mental health episode. She said in her statement she believes DeSilva wanted to die and orchestrated the ending of his life to die at the hand of police.
The motion also says that prosecutors did not provide an email to Taylor’s defense until after his conviction that the Travis County District Attorney’s Office originally did not believe Taylor should face criminal charges.
Additionally, Taylor’s attorneys argue that they did not get a chance to question jurors about what materials they may have been viewing on laptops and cellphones during deliberations to rule out that they were looking at media coverage or doing legal research – potential grounds for a mistrial.
The attorneys conclude their request saying that the conviction is not supported by evidence.
Former federal prosecutor Jorge Vela, who has followed the case, said he believes it will be difficult for Taylor to get a new trial.
“The court is not going to take this motion lightly. I think on its face the defense’s motion for a new trial is compelling but on a deeper dive, I think ultimately when the court looks through this motion, she will ultimately deny their motion,” he said.
The shooting happened after officers responded to a 911 call at a downtown residential high-rise about a man with a knife. They confronted DeSilva with that knife feet away as they stepped off an elevator to approach him.
A judge sentenced Taylor to two years in prison, but he remains free on bond pending the outcome of a yet-to-be-filed appeal.
The Travis County District Attorney’s Office did not have a comment on Tuesday. It will likely file a response with the court in coming days.
The judge has 30 days to rule.