Thread by @TexasTribune

Thread: @govabbott labeled George Floyd's killing a “horrific act of police brutality."

He's said Texas can't let such a tragedy happen here.

But he has been noticeably silent on Texas' own examples of police killings. bit.ly/37hcjQK

2/ Here is a string of high-profile fatal police shootings and in-custody deaths of black Texans from 2018 to now that have sparked protests and widespread calls for police reform and racial justice:

3/ In 2018, former Balch Springs police officer Roy Oliver was convicted of murder in the shooting death of Jordan Edwards, a 15-year-old passenger in a car that was driving away from police.

Via @texasmonthly: bit.ly/3dRUJp5

4/ A year later, former Dallas police officer Amber Guyger was convicted of murder for killing Botham Jean, a 26-year-old man who was unarmed at home when the off-duty officer shot him from the doorway. bit.ly/3faS61F

5/ Last October, a Fort Worth police officer dispatched to perform a welfare check on Atatiana Jefferson instead fatally shot her while she was at home playing video games with her nephew. bit.ly/2Yqgy8w

6/ Javier Ambler died last year after Williamson County sheriff deputies held him down and stunned him with a Taser after pulling him over for failing to dim the headlights on his SUV.

Via @statesman: bit.ly/2BQeZJz

7/ In Austin, cellphone video recorded by a neighbor showed that Mike Ramos was unarmed and driving away from police in April when a police officer shot and killed him.

The officer, Christopher Taylor, is on paid leave.

Via @texasobserver: bit.ly/3hfIkgI

8/ Those high-profile shootings from 2019 and 2020 are still under investigation. The names of the people killed have been printed on protest signs and shouted during the recent Texas demonstrations.

Abbott has not mentioned them since Floyd’s death.

9/ On Tuesday night, the governor changed his phrasing in an interview with @KBTXNews, saying reform efforts are needed to ensure “that no one is killed like this in the future.”

10/ His comments came after The Texas Tribune asked a spokesperson about the disconnect between the governor's previous remarks and Texas' history.

11/ Recently, Abbott has commended Texas’ efforts in the criminal justice world, citing certain state laws, a large number of exonerations and the closure of several state prisons in recent years as examples of recent success.

12/ But state lawmakers repeatedly failed to pass several police reform efforts in recent years in the face of opposition from law enforcement.

13/ The repeated inability to pass bills on issues like bail, police practices and the death penalty prompted a bipartisan group of House representatives last year to form a Criminal Justice Reform Caucus in hopes of bolstering their efforts: bit.ly/30qxizf

14/ Following Sandra Bland's 2015 death in a rural Texas jail after she was arrested during a routine traffic stop, two lawmakers filed a comprehensive bill to address racial profiling during traffic stops, limit police searches of vehicles and more. bit.ly/3hhQc12

15/15 But by the time the #txlege passed it, most of the sweeping provisions related to policing had been stripped out.

The lawmakers recently told us they’re determined to push those reforms through when the Legislature reconvenes in January. bit.ly/2Ym622b