Police continue to testify in officer's deadly conduct trial, bodycam vid shown
Editor's note: This video is from Thursday's news coverage of court proceedings.
AUSTIN (KXAN) — The fourth officer who was with Officer Christopher Taylor during the 2019 911 call for Mauris DeSilva will continue his testimony at Taylor’s trial Friday morning.
911 callers said DeSilva was walking on the street and in his condo complex with a knife to his throat. One caller repeatedly requested a mental health officer.
The call ended with Taylor and another officer, Karl Krycia, shooting and killing DeSilva when police confronted him holding a knife once officers got off the elevator on the floor DeSilva was on. Taylor faces a deadly conduct charge in this case. He pleaded not guilty.
The body camera video played in court Thursday of the moment the shooting happened is below.
Taylor’s attorneys said he acted in defense of himself and others, and that DeSilva’s position with the knife - combined with what officers describe as “erratic” behavior - presented an imminent threat.
The State said there was no reason to shoot DeSilva, he posed no threat to officers and was undergoing a “profound” mental health episode. Prosecutors, through their questioning, dug into the second-by-second decision-making process of officers in the elevator, as well as what type of consideration officers made regarding the status of DeSilva’s mental health.
Attorneys use prop knife to demonstrate perceived thread during shooting
Officer Phillip Zuniga continued his testimony Friday morning. He was with Taylor when Taylor shot DeSilva, but did not use a weapon. The video above shows both the State and Defense pull Zuniga into the well to demonstrate at which point he, per his training and experience as a police officer, would fire a gun at someone holding a knife.
What does Deadly Conduct mean?
Texas penal code describes Deadly Conduct as a case when “A person commits an offense if he recklessly engages in conduct that places another in imminent danger of serious bodily injury… A person commits an offense if he knowingly discharges a firearm at or in the direction of one or more individuals.”
In Taylor’s case, it’s a third-degree felony.
There is no dispute whether Taylor shot and killed DeSilva. The jury must decide, rather, if Taylor acted in self-defense. The burden is on the State to prove he did not act in self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt.
By definition, the question of Deadly Conduct primarily pertains to the moment of the shooting itself versus the substantial lead-up to it. For the jury, prosecutors are walking through the entire response, asking officers why additional steps were not taken to gather more information about DeSilva’s state of mind before officers got into the elevator.
Taylor was originally charged with murder in this case. The District Attorney’s Office dropped that charge last week, so he only faces the Deadly Conduct chart.
Officer Krycia, who also shot DeSilva, still faces a murder charge, according to online court records. The District Attorney’s Office cannot currently comment as to why. KXAN has also reached out to Krycia’s attorney and will update this story if we hear back.