Excessive Force
Cop didn't use excessive force, jury finds
On June 11, a jury sided with an Austin police officer who was blamed for the shooting death of man fleeing in a car. Byron Carter was in the front passenger seat of a parked car when Officer Nathan Wagner and another officer approached. Carter shouted, "Go!" and his friend hit the gas. Wagner had been on bicycle patrol looking for car burglars. He said Carter and his friend had been acting suspiciously. He fired five rounds at the moving vehicle. The defense contended that the driver accelerated directly at the officers; that the right front fender clipped Wagner's partner in the leg, causing him to fall; and that Wagner had to jump out of the way to avoid being hit by the vehicle.
