After two days of deliberations, the jury in the deadly conduct trial of Austin police officer Christopher Taylor did not reach a verdict Thursday night and will continue working to reach a decision on Friday.
It was an overall quiet day in the Travis County 167th Criminal District Court, with only one public hearing, without the jury present. The hearing was related to some jurors expressing concern for their safety due to the high-profile nature of the case. Taylor’s defense attorneys asked for a mistrial based on some of the jurors’ concerns, which District Judge Dayna Blazey denied.
Those concerns came up before the jury began deliberations, with one juror stating they feared they were being followed on Friday, but told the bailiff they were probably being paranoid. Another juror also broke down and cried before deliberations began, fearing that her identifying information could be leaked.
The bailiff said during the hearing that these types of fears are not uncommon in her experience, with Blazey adding that the court came up with a security plan for the jurors before the trial, something that’s typically done before high-profile cases.