Many Austinites are outraged with the actions of a local police officer after he reportedly shot and killed 32-year-old Larry Jackson Jr. on 35th street in late July. Reports covering the incident state that an APD detective pursued Jackson and the confrontation culminated when Jackson was fatally shot after the two men physically struggled underneath an Austin bridge.
According to KXAN, the altercation began when at “around 4 p.m., Jackson tried to get into the Benchmark Bank at 1508 W. 35th Street but wasn’t able to enter since the bank’s doors were locked due to an ongoing robbery investigation that stemmed from earlier in the day.” Jackson again attempted to gain entry into the bank “before getting the attention of a bank manager inside who came outside to speak to the man.” Jackson apparently provided unsatisfactory identification to the bank manager, who then “went back inside and notified the detective of the suspicious activity.” Shortly thereafter, the detective went outside to investigate Jackson further, and Jackson reportedly fled the scene after speaking with the detective for a few minutes. The detective ran after him, and Jackson was shot and killed by the detective underneath a bridge moments later.
As a result, numerous locals feel that the detective used unnecessary force in his pursuit of Jackson and have been lining the streets outside of the Austin police department in protest. Fox Austin has been interviewing protestors on the scene, and many on hand feel that the officer should have handled the situation differently.
“He didn’t have a backup or partner doing that. I don’t think he followed police protocol in what he was doing,” stated one protestor on site.
However, with so few facts present in the case at this point in time, it is vital that we all stay levelheaded until the truth about the case has an opportunity to come to light. Fox Austin interviewed Kevin Lawrence—executive director of the Texas Municipal Police Association—and he offered up a similar sentiment:
“Don’t rush to judgment. Don’t make up your mind that just because you know you hear on the news or you hear a rumor going around that somebody wasn’t armed or that somebody didn’t pull a gun or…wait until all the facts come out,” Lawrence said.
Obviously, this particular incident is incredibly emotionally charged, and it is easy to jump to conclusions about what may or may not have happened between the officer and Jackson on July 26th. Lawrence provides some wisdom here, though, when he advises Austinites not to rush to judgment. Nobody—outside of the APD officer involved—knows what prompted the detective to use the force that he did, and until the reasons for it are presented, it is impossible to determine if it was necessary or not.
At Freedom Bail Bonds, we understand the importance of withholding judgment. Whether keeping our customers up-to-date on local news stories or dealing with our clients on a daily basis, you can always trust us to stay levelheaded and judgment-free. To put it simply, it is not our job to judge anybody (prematurely or otherwise). Our job is to help people get their lives back on track, and our focus is always on doing that job as well as we possibly can.
