APD officer charged with murder now on paid administrative duty, department says

Senior Police Officer Christopher Taylor, whose case resulted in a mistrial last month due to a hung jury, will now return to work administrative duty at the Austin Police Department, APD told KXAN.

AUSTIN (KXAN) -- Senior Police Officer Christopher Taylor, whose case resulted in a mistrial last month due to a hung jury, will now return to work administrative duty at the Austin Police Department, APD told KXAN.

The department previously placed Taylor on unpaid administrative leave pending the outcome of his criminal charges.

"This means he will be providing administrative support to our bureau detectives," APD said.

In November, Taylor stood trial for murder in the 2020 shooting death of Michael Ramos. A judge declared a mistrial after jurors could not come to a unanimous decision. Before that, a judge also granted a mistrial in May due to various issues during jury selection.

Taylor also faces a murder charge for the 2019 death of Mauris Nishanga DeSilva.

In response to KXAN's question about the reason behind this decision, APD responded by saying, "This adjustment was made to maintain consistency with the status of other Austin Police Department officers currently under indictment."

On Dec. 13, his attorneys requested that the courts try Taylor on DeSilva’s death in September 2024 instead of Ramos’ due to Taylor’s invocation of his right to a speedy trial in the DeSilva case. Attorneys said they’ve now waived the right to a speedy trial in the Ramos case.

The State said it intends to retry Taylor on the Ramos case.

Attorneys on both sides will now provide briefings to the judge and meet for a hearing in February or March to determine which of Taylor’s cases will be tried in September.