APD’s history of using excessive force is a long one. Over the years, dozens of lawsuits, reports, and articles have pointed to a pattern of APD officers using more force than reasonable without receiving adequate discipline. Many settlements later, the department continues to battle excessive-force claims, such as the recently decided trial over the allegedly wrongful death of Alex Gonzales Jr.
On January 5, 2021, Gonzales Jr. encountered off-duty officer Gabriel Gutierrez while driving his girlfriend and her infant son to the store to buy baby formula. The men pulled up next to each other, and within 2.7 seconds, Officer Gutierrez fired eight shots into Gonzales’ car.
Gutierrez then called 911, telling the operator he was off-duty APD who “had shots fired.” Responding to his call, Officer Luis Serrato then shot and killed Gonzales after he failed to comply with verbal commands, reaching into his car’s backseat. The on-duty officers say they did not know that a baby was in the backseat.
The plaintiffs and defense sparred over the details of this night, with the critical question being whether Gonzales pointed a gun at Gutierrez’s head. The jury, however, eventually sided with the defense, finding Gutierrez not liable for the death of Gonzales Jr. as he credibly feared for his life when he used deadly force.
In addition to Gutierrez, the city of Austin began as a defendant in the trial. The plaintiffs alleged that APD conducted inadequate investigations into what happened, failed to discipline officers, and created a “culture of impunity.” Judge Robert Pitman dismissed the city as a defendant after six days, citing the plaintiff’s failure to connect APD policy with Gutierrez’s decision to shoot.
Despite the verdict, the trial shed light on many of the key issues and players that have dominated APD’s long history of excessive-force claims. Alex Gonzales’ death – and the public outrage and years of legal battles that ensued – are part of a broader conversation concerning APD policy and practices in use-of-force cases.
APD chiefs of police, for example, have repeatedly faced criticism for not disciplining officers involved in excessive-force claims. The plaintiffs deposed several chiefs, including Joseph Chacon, who was chief of police during the investigation into Gonzales’ death, as well as Brian Manley, and Robin Henderson. “Multiple incidents have occurred where innocent individuals have been shot,” said Donald Puckett, attorney for the plaintiffs. Justin Howell, Anthony Evans, Maredith Drake, and Nicole Underwood are just some of APD’s excessive-force victims since 2020, the attorney said. APD officers shot more than 10 individuals who were unarmed in May 2020 – in part due to Manley’s decisions, none faced internal discipline.
“If officers are not disciplined for shooting unarmed people, it would promote a belief that officers are above the law, right?” Puckett asked Manley in a deposition. Manley paused, then responded, “It could.”
Despite these facts, attorneys for the city in the Gonzales trial remained persistent in APD’s adherence to acceptable practices. “There is no evidence that APD or the city had a policy or practice of not disciplining officers when they use excessive force,” said defense attorney Gray Laird.
“If officers are not disciplined for shooting unarmed people, it would promote a belief that officers are above the law, right?” – Attorney for the plaintiffs Donald Puckett
While chiefs have opted not to discipline officers, they’ve also chosen not to explain why. Chacon never provided his reasoning for why he decided not to discipline Gutierrez against the recommendations of the Office of Police Oversight in 2021. And this is not a one-off case. A failure to explain a lack of discipline has long been cited by experts – 2011, Department of Justice; 2016, Office of the City Auditor; 2022, Kroll & Associates – as a key contributing factor to issues with transparency and accountability in APD.
These ignored recommendations come from two crucial players in APD use-of-force issues, the OPO and the Community Police Review Commission.
During the Gutierrez trial, the plaintiffs for Gonzales called Richard Barner from the CPRC and Sylvia Hardman from the OPO to the stand. They both testified that their recommendations for indefinite suspension of Gutierrez were not accepted and the reasoning behind doing so not explained. Garner testified that in his two years at the CPRC, APD only ever accepted one recommendation from the commission. He said that as chairperson of the CPRC, his efforts felt wasted.
The police chiefs, however, point to the G file, a previously confidential APD archive of officer misconduct. They claim their decision-making process is confidential under state law, which permits certain officer misconduct files to be kept secret. Regardless, in 2023, Austinites voted on an act that did away with the secretive G file, though the release of information has been slow and costly.
The documents hidden within the G file come from investigations conducted by APD itself – the Special Investigations Unit and Internal Affairs, specifically. These APD units investigate officer-involved critical incidents, with IA creating a report specifically designed to help police chiefs make their disciplinary decisions. Much of the Gonzales trial centered around SIU and IA’s “inadequate,” “incomplete,” and “incorrect” investigations, as described by the plaintiffs.
In the face of these accusations, the city has spent millions of dollars in settlement money and attorneys’ fees. Jessica Arellano, girlfriend of Alex Gonzales, was shot three times the night Gonzales died. She settled with the city for a total of $550,000, but in doing so, agreed not to testify in the lawsuit brought by Gonzales’ parents.
Puckett told the Chronicle that Arellano’s suit and her inability to testify greatly impacted the trial result, as attorneys were not permitted to explain the reason behind her lack of appearance. With her credibility a central factor in the trial, Puckett said that this is their primary grounds for an appeal or retrial.
“Even though the jury found that we didn’t meet our burden of proof to show what actually happened, we do hope that we performed a public service by just shining a light on these practices,” Puckett said. “Hopefully, this can lead to some good reforms that are beneficial to the department by helping it gain and maintain public trust.”
Policy change seems unlikely. On the stand, Puckett asked former interim Chief Robin Henderson: “Can you identify any lessons learned as a result of this incident?” Henderson replied, “No, I cannot.”
While the plaintiffs work on submitting motions for appeal and retrial, the Austin Police Department continues business as usual. If policy changes are not forthcoming, this trial is another instance of an APD officer-involved shooting in which someone dies, no one is disciplined, tax dollars are spent on attorney fees and settlement money, and little policy change follows.
This article appears in July 25 • 2025.